


Final Exam

by Titch360



Series: My Version of Events [66]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Coming of Age, Mommy Issues, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 50,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27654875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titch360/pseuds/Titch360
Summary: At the end of any class, you are usually met with a final exam.  When your class is a Superhero Training Team under the Justice League, you can expect your final exam to be something special.  It's the Team versus the League.  Who will pass?  Who will fail?(By the way, this story was completed, including the ending note, over a year ago.  The final note is no longer accurate, but I didn't want to change it because this story clocked in at exactly 50,000 words, with the end note.  I didn't want to mess with the even number.  Excuse my OCD.)
Series: My Version of Events [66]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1339429
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	Final Exam

Final Exam

“Are you ready to go, kiddo?”

Damian looked up from where he was sitting on the bench in the locker room, tying his boots.

“Almost, Father,” Damian said, giving a small smile as he snugged his laces.

“What’s that look for,” Bruce asked.

Damian started tying his other boot, “Alfred got me new boots. They’re a lot more comfortable than the old ones.”

Bruce cocked his head to one side, “Are your feet growing?”

Damian nodded, “Yes. Alfred has slowly been replacing all of my shoes. I’m glad he finally got around to ordering me new boots.”

Bruce gave a nod, “Well, hurry up. We need to get going.”

Damian looked up at his father again, “Are we patrolling? I thought this was meeting night. I was going to do a first aid refresher with the kids tonight.”

“Plans have changed,” Bruce said as he pulled his cowl over his head.

“What’s going on,” Damian asked as he hastily affixed his mask over his eyes. He grabbed a cape and hurried out of the locker room.

Robin met Batman at the Zeta Tube and asked again, “What’s going on, Father?”

Batman turned to look at Robin, “You’ll find out in a minute. You are coming to our Justice League meeting. At least, for the first half. We’re discussing your team. Red Robin will keep your team busy while we talk.”

The Dynamic Duo stepped through the Zeta Tube and into the Watchtower. Batman walked ahead, but turned back when he realized that Robin wasn’t following him. The sidekick was leaning against the wall, outside of the transport room, staring at the floor.

“Robin?”

Robin didn’t answer, and Batman approached closer, “What is it, Robin?”

Robin couldn’t look up, and mumbled, “You’re taking my team away from me, aren’t you?”

“Why do you think that,” Batman asked.

Robin sighed, “A secret meeting where my team is the first item of discussion. I’m the only one invited, while my team is kept busy somewhere else. You didn’t tell me about this meeting until we got here. The signs are obvious, Father.”

Batman lifted his son’s chin, then raised both of their eye lenses, “You’re being paranoid again, kiddo. I think you’ll find this meeting quite interesting. Come on, give us a chance.”

Damian released a breath that seemed larger than himself, “Okay, Father.”

Batman and Robin walked into the conference room, and Robin looked around in confusion. “What’s going on, Father? Where is everyone?”

“We’re early,” Batman said matter-of-factly, “I’ve noticed in past meetings that you get defensive if you walk into meetings where you’re expected to answer questions after the whole League is assembled.”

Robin shrugged, “Yeah, I do. Can you give me any hints about this meeting? Should I be nervous?”

Batman shook his head, “Just be honest. No one is in trouble here.”

“Um,” Robin said, looking around, “Where should I sit?”

“The hot seat, of course,” Batman said, referring to the lone chair set in the middle of the three table semi-circle. “You don’t need to sit there until the meeting starts, though.”

Batman and Robin turned and looked at the door of the conference room a minute later as Flash walked in and said, “Hey, Bat boys.”

“Flash,” Batman said evenly.

Flash walked up to Robin and nudged the teen with a smile, “Ready for your grilling, Rob?”

Robin rolled his eyes under his mask, “I guess so.”

Batman checked the time on his eye lens display, “You’re on time for once, Flash. Where is everyone else?”

Flash hitched a thumb at the door, “Supes and Wonder Woman are in the control room. They’ll be here in a minute. Haven’t seen the Arrows or Lanterns.”

Batman nodded, “And Martian Manhunter won’t be here tonight.”

“Cyborg and Starfire will be here soon, though,” Flash said.

Robin looked up at Flash, “Why are they coming? Do they normally come to Council Meetings?”

“They don’t,” Batman said, “but they have some insight on the proceedings, since they were part of the last team expansion put together by the League.”

Robin looked over at Batman, “Then, why is Red Robin watching my team, instead of coming to the interrogation?”

“It was either leave your team with him or Red Hood,” Batman said.

The Justice League walked into the conference room as Robin said, “Uh, you made a good choice, then.”

Superman took his seat and motioned to the chair in the center of the room, “Thank you for coming, Robin. I know you weren’t given any advanced notice of this meeting. We asked Batman not to tip you off to this. We’re you told what’s going on?”

Robin sat down and shook his head, “Just that we’ll be discussing my team.”

_He sounds like he’s in a better mood than most of the other times he’s been called in front of the League,_ Superman thought, _maybe this will go well._

Superman nodded, “That’s right, we will be discussing your team. You have been training the kids for two years now. We’ve heard good reports about them from you, and about you from them. I guess you can consider this a review. We want to hear all about your team. Your team has made good use of the Mount Justice facility. Are there any complaints about making that your team’s permanent headquarters?”

Robin shook his head, “It’s worked for us, so far. Wait, permanent headquarters? Are we being made operational?”

“We haven’t decided that yet,” Batman said, “This meeting, and several future meetings and events, will decide that.”

“What do you think about that,” Wonder Woman asked.

Robin thought for a second, “We’ll need more supervision than just me if we’re going to be taking on missions. At least, in the beginning, for our first several missions.”

“If this happens,” Superman said, “your team will be given low-risk missions until your whole team is at least sixteen years old. We’ve already been accused of creating child soldiers once. I, for one, am not looking forward to being accused of that again.”

Robin squirmed a bit, knowing that he was created to be the ultimate child soldier.

“Why don’t you think you can handle your team on your own on missions,” Flash asked.

“There’s a big difference between training and missions,” Robin said to the speedster, “your kids are a handful.”

“Said the biggest handful on the team,” Batman murmured, eliciting a shocked gasp from Flash, a giggle from Wonder Woman, and a glare from Robin.

“Thanks a lot, Father,” Robin growled.

“You’ve been on missions with your team before,” Superman pointed out.

“Not all of them at once, and not on our own,” Robin replied. “The Brainiac invasion doesn’t count. We weren’t a team then, and we were in a contained environment, with no mission-type goals to accomplish.”

“I guess that’s true,” Arsenal said.

“The only one I’ve really been on missions with is Superboy,” Robin said.

“How about escaping when you were kidnapped with Ir…Impulse and Mercury,” Flash asked.

Robin was silent for a second before asking, “Does that count as a mission?”

“Just because it fell in your lap, instead of being assigned, doesn’t mean it doesn’t count,” Superman said, “You treated it like a mission, and the kids followed your lead.”

Robin shrugged, “I guess so. That shouldn’t really be a surprise, though. That I treated it like a mission, I mean. I treat going to the grocery store with Agent A like a mission, too.”

“Is that true, Batman,” Green Lantern asked with a smile.

Robin wasn’t the only one who could see Batman’s eye roll without him having to remove his cowl.

Superman spoke up again, “Yes, you are right, Robin. Being an operational unit is very different than training. We will eventually be starting the team out slow.”

“I’m seeing a lot of cats stuck in trees being reported very soon,” Flash said.

“Before we do anything,” Batman said, “Tell us about your team. Give us your expert evaluation, as their trainer.”

Robin thought for a long second, then looked at Batman and asked, “Where should I start?”

“Why don’t you start with a typical training,” Wonder Woman suggested, “What do you do with your team?”

“Every move we make in Mount Justice is recorded and archived,” Robin said.

“And we want your evaluation of it,” Batman said.

Robin nodded, “Well, that all depends on what we’re covering that week. I started our trainings two years ago with purely tactical concerns. We’ve covered evasion, stealth, self-defense, evaluating and assessing threats, physical fitness, and reading crime scenes. Around the time of the Pure Earth crisis, we started realizing that the kids needed more real-world skills. I added in first aid and CPR training. My whole team is now certified by the Red Cross. We started basic computer training, for targeted research into cases and threats. Then, after a mission I was given earlier this year, I was reminded that my team is a bunch of kids, and this is only one aspect of their lives. I added in real-world components. We have one meeting a month where we just talk. We talk about life, school, what’s going on in their lives. You can call it group therapy, I guess.”

“Your team has evolved quite a bit,” Superman said.

“This originally started as a training group,” Flash said, “When did it evolve into a team?”

Robin looked over at the father of one-third of his team, “When did the League consider us a team, or when did we consider ourselves a team?”

“When did you consider yourselves a team,” Arsenal asked.

Robin shrugged, “It was a natural progression. The more time we spent together, the stronger our relationship became.”

“Speaking of relationships,” Batman said, “Tell us about how you all get along. Are there any interpersonal conflicts?”

“One or two,” Robin admitted.

“Which are,” Superman asked.

Robin looked down, “Well, the first one is me. I still forget that these children weren’t forced to train the way I was. They’ve gotten pretty good at calling me on when I start acting overbearing and demanding, or when I’m trying to force skills on them that they aren’t ready for, or when I’m expecting too much of them.”

“What else,” Wonder Woman asked.

“The twins bicker, well, like twins,” Robin said, “Mercury is a little slower on the uptake than Impulse…slower than the rest of the group, for that matter. He compares himself to the rest of the group. Self-esteem issues, I guess. Thirteen isn’t a good age for self-confidence.”

Flash nodded, “I’ve noticed that at home, too.”

“What else,” Batman asked.

Robin glanced at Arsenal, “Speedy has a habit of telling the group that how I’m teaching things she already knows isn’t how she was taught. It got to the point where I had to remind her that there is more than one way to do almost everything, and just because I teach something differently doesn’t mean that what she previously learned was wrong.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t be training my daughter,” Arsenal asked.

“Did I say that,” Robin shot back, “All I’m saying is she’s almost as arrogant as I am. Two blowhards on one team is too many.”

It was very hard for Batman not to smile at the exchange.

Robin continued, “While we’re on the topic of Speedy, she only comes to roughly three-quarters of our meetings and trainings. I constantly have to have multiple topics ready for training, depending on how many people show up.”

Arsenal snorted, “Sorry I didn’t RSVP. I’m not exactly wealthy, you know. It’s expensive to run a Zeta Tube.”

“Flash isn’t exactly raking it in, either, but he manages to make it work,” Robin said, before pointing at Green Arrow, “He’s wealthy. Use his Zeta Tube. If this is going to be a team, then we need consistency in members.”

No one noticed Flash’s embarrassed blush as Superman leaned over to Batman and whispered, “Didn’t you use the same argument when we founded the Justice League?”

“Only because you wanted to try to found it on a reporter’s salary,” Batman replied.

Neither of them caught on that Robin heard the hushed exchange.

“Any other personality conflicts,” Wonder Woman asked.

Robin turned back to look at the Amazonian, “Potentially. It’s not a problem yet, but it has the potential to become one in the future.”

“What is it,” Superman asked.

Robin took a deep breath, “Well, your kids are growing up, and…”

“Just say it, Robin,” Batman said at Robin’s hesitation.

Robin blushed a bit at having to be the one to report this, “Mercury has a crush on Speedy. He hasn’t done anything about it yet, but he doesn’t hide it as well as he thinks he does.”

The room fell silent for a minute before Superman sighed and said, “It was bound to happen, with a co-ed team of teenagers.”

“I’m not exactly the right person to talk to them and warn them about all the things that can go wrong,” Robin said, “For one, I’m not their parent. Most importantly, though, I started dating my girlfriend when I was younger than both of them are now. I’m an example of it working successfully. They need to hear it from people with experience in failed love. If they try it and it doesn’t work, it will fundamentally alter the team dynamic. If they try it and it does work, it could cause distractions in the field. If they don’t try anything, they could still become distracted.”

Superman leaned over and whispered to Batman again, “Is he bragging at the same time as he’s explaining a potential issue?”

“I like to teach multitasking to my partners,” Batman whispered, having a very hard time not smiling.

“Why do you keep saying they,” Arsenal asked.

Robin turned and met Arsenal’s eyes, “Because, while it hasn’t been quite as obvious, I believe Speedy has the same feelings for Mercury. I think she is either waiting for him to make the first move, or she’s nervous for how you’ll react.”

“Did you know about this, Flash,” Arsenal asked.

Flash blushed, answering the question without speaking, “Like he said, Merc doesn’t hide his feelings well. I figured he was getting to the age where he would start noticing girls, I just didn’t think it would be Speedy.”

Arsenal shook his head, “I can’t believe this.”

Flash smiled at Robin, “I can’t believe Robin knew the correct terminology and word usage to describe a crush.”

Robin rolled his eyes, “I _am_ dating a teenaged girl. It’s hard not to learn some modern slang.”

Most of the League smiled at Robin’s version of modern slang.

“Okay, you’ve described Mercury and Speedy, to an extent. Now, the rest of your team,” Batman said, “Your evaluation of Superboy, please.”

“Young,” Robin said immediately, “Naïve, hopelessly optimistic. He’s the one person on the team who doesn’t need protection, yet he is the one we all try to protect most. I guess, if we can save his innocence, then we’ve done something good for the world.”

“What about his skills,” Superman asked.

“He’s very good,” Robin said, “He has the skill, the potential to surpass everyone on the team. Everyone in this room, for that matter. He only lacks the control over his powers, and the confidence to work on his own.”

“What doesn’t he control about his powers,” Batman asked nervously.

“He knows he’s strong, but sometimes he forgets just how strong.”

“Give us an example,” Wonder Woman said.

Robin thought back for a second, then said, “While doing CPR training, I taught the group how hard you have to push for chest compressions. Superboy wasn’t pressing hard enough. After I gave him another example, on his next turn, he crushed the CPR dummy. Superboy knows he can’t control his strength yet. At least, not as well as he will be able to, with more training. That leads him to underperform, for fear of hurting people. He lacks confidence in his skills and abilities. He’ll get there, but right now, he needs supervision.”

“Okay,” Batman said, “What is your impression of Beast Boy?”

Robin tilted his head to the side, “Is a Justice League meeting really the time for impressions, Father?”

Batman rolled his eyes, “Just tell us about Beast Boy, Robin.”

Robin gave a half-smirk, “That was an example of Beast Boy’s personality. Spending his life physically different than the entire world has caused him a lot of hurt, both physically and emotionally. To try to defend himself, he covers his true emotions with jokes. He is desperate to fit in anywhere. He’s grown quite a bit with the team. He is able to be himself with us. He said to me once that he’s never really been around people before who are more interested in the boy, instead of the beast. We try to focus more on the boy.”

“Tell us about the beast part,” Green Lantern said.

Robin nodded, “His powers are amazing. It’s really something you need to see to believe. When he concentrates, he can be the perfect infiltration specialist. Depending on the size of the animal he is changing into, it can only take a few seconds for him to fully transform. However, he is vulnerable for those few seconds. To use that power in the field, he will either need to get faster in his changes, or he will need good cover.”

“How will he be on a team,” Superman asked.

“Beast Boy has several layers of personal defenses erected around his personality. Once he is able to drop his defenses, he is loyal to a fault. He will defend this team to the end.”

“Tell us about Impulse,” Wonder Woman said.

Robin saw Flash lean forward in his seat out of the corner of his eye. “The more talented of the speedster twins. Both Impulse and Mercury openly acknowledge that fact. She has tried to take on a mothering role within the team. I’m guessing, at least. I don’t exactly know what a mother is supposed to do. She excelled in first aid and CPR training. While Mercury has a habit of running headlong into situations without analyzing them, Impulse will overanalyze, to the point of dangerous inaction. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but field operations won’t afford her the time she normally takes to make a decision.”

The Justice League nodded at the information. Batman leaned forward, trying to make eye contact with Robin through their masks. “Okay, last one. What is your analysis of Robin?”

“What are you talking about,” Robin said with a smirk, “I’m perfect.”

Batman and Robin stared at each other for several long seconds before Robin said, “Actually, what is the opposite of perfect? How many of my faults do you want, because we could be here all night.”

“Robin’s ability as a leader,” Batman said.

“Adequate for now,” Robin said, “I’m learning to drop the authoritarianism, and to use the talents of my team. It’s…been a process, learning to trust my team. Learning that I _can_ trust my team.”

“Robin’s ability as a teacher,” Batman said.

“The team is learning,” Robin said with a shrug, “I don’t know if any of it is my doing. They all listen when I talk, but I think it’s mostly because the League told them to.”

“Robin’s ability as an operative,” Batman said.

Robin gave Batman a strange look, wondering in the back of his mind why Batman was the only one questioning him about himself. “Would you allow me to patrol with you if there was any doubt about that?”

“He’s got you there, Batman,” Flash said, “You are your own answer to your question.”

Batman sent a short glare at Flash before turning back to Robin, “You have far more experience in the field than the rest of your team. Why do you sound like you aren’t sure about your ability to work with your team in the field?”

“Because most of my experience is with solo work,” Robin said, “Almost all of my field team experience is in two-man groups, and I didn’t start working with a partner until I came to Gotham. I’ve hardly ever worked in the field with groups as large as my team. Even when all of us patrol together, Father, we will eventually break off into individuals or pairs. I just don’t have experience leading groups.”

Robin paused for a second, then released a breath, “I like my team. I’m not looking forward to being put in a position that might get them injured or killed.”

“You, of all people, are worried about death,” Green Arrow asked.

Robin’s gaze snapped fiercely in the direction of the archer, “What’s that shit supposed to mean?”

“Calm down, Robin,” Batman said firmly, expecting that reaction, from both his son and from Green Arrow.

Robin took a deep breath, and had to grab on to the seat of the chair to keep himself seated. “When I took my position as Robin, I swore I wouldn’t be responsible for any more bodies than I already have on my conscience. That hasn’t always worked out with our opponents. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let something happen to my team. If keeping them on the bench keeps them safe, then so be it.”

The room fell silent for a minute. Robin was staring at his hands while the League looked back and forth between each other.

Finally, Superman spoke up, “I call the vote. Shall we move ahead with our initial plan? Flash?”

The speedster nodded, “Yes.”

“Arsenal?”

“Yes.”

“Green Lantern?”

“Yes,” the man said with a wink aimed at the teen. Robin was still looking down, and didn’t see it.

“Green Arrow?”

“Yes.”

Robin’s head popped up in surprise at the archer’s affirmative answer.

“Wonder Woman?”

“Yes,” the woman said, smiling at Robin.

“Batman?”

Batman’s and Robin’s eyes met, and Batman said, “Yes.”

Superman smiled, “Superman votes yes. The vote is unanimous. Congratulations, Robin.”

Robin looked around the room before his eyes settled on Superman, “Wait, what just happened? Is my team going to be given missions now?”

“No,” Superman said, “but you’re moving in that direction. Your next phase of training will focus on getting your team ready for field operations. That is going to start next weekend, with a specialized training exercise.”

“What kind of exercise,” Robin asked.

“Your team’s official base of operations is Mount Justice,” Batman said, “In the upcoming exercise, your team will defend your base against an attack.”

“What sort of attack,” Robin asked suspiciously.

Superman smiled, “The Justice League will infiltrate Mount Justice. It’s your team’s job to stop us.”

“Stop you from getting in? Stop you from accessing certain areas? Stop you from capturing my team? Stop you from breathing? What’s the goal here?”

“Your goal is to stop us from accessing the main computer,” Batman said. “To make it a little fairer on your team, no remote means will be used to access the computer, and we will not use the Zeta Tube to access the facility. Powers are in play, but non-lethal force is paramount. We will be considered stopped when normal means of capture are implemented. Your team will be considered stopped under the same guidelines.”

Robin gave a small smirk, “So, we don’t have to break out the kryptonite handcuffs?”

“You don’t actually have kryptonite handcuffs, do you,” Superman asked in a nervously small voice.

Batman ignored the man sitting at his side, and spoke to Robin, “Just consider us normal patrol villains. Attacks that would render a normal intruder unconscious, or regular binding, will be considered a successful takedown.”

“You aren’t going to answer me,” Superman asked.

Robin looked around at the League members present, then asked, “What’s the real goal with this training?”

“To judge how well your team interacts and operates as a unit,” Batman said, “When your team is eventually field-rated, we need to know if you all can operate as a cohesive unit.”

“I have a lot to cover with my team, don’t I,” Robin said.

Superman nodded, “You do. You can go and brief your team instead of training tonight. Also, since it’s summer, your team can meet during the week to plan, if you need to.”

Robin nodded, “Okay. So, are we done here? Like you said, my team has a lot to discuss.”

Batman nodded, “You can go, Robin. Send Red Robin up here when you get to Mount Justice.”

Robin rose and headed for the door, “Okay, Batman.”

Superman spoke up before Robin made it out of the room, “Wait. How are you doing, Robin? Since the fire, I mean.”

Robin shrugged, “It hurts every now and then. The doctors told me to expect that. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Robin walked away, then returned a couple seconds later, “Oh, um…Thank you. For giving my team this opportunity, I mean.”

“Be sure to send Red Robin up, son,” Batman said. He was the only member of the League who was able to respond to the unexpected gratitude.

_Mount Justice…_

Robin stepped through the Zeta Tube into Mount Justice’s transport room. The teen looked around at the familiar space and let a small smile cross his face, knowing no one was watching. _This is mine now. It’s ours now. This team, my team, is real now. The League has been watching us, and now it’s time to show them what we can really do. I haven’t been this excited since the last time I saw Robin. Maybe, once we show up the League, they’ll finally take us seriously._

Robin looked up and walked with purpose to the elevator. If anyone watched the video surveillance later, they might have said he had a spring in his step.

Robin got off of the elevator two floors below the main level and strode into the Training Room. Red Robin had the kids working on getting out of holds, something Robin had taught them even before they were a team.

Instead of watching and waiting, like he normally would, Robin whistled loudly, to get everyone’s attention. Mercury and Beast Boy froze as the call sounded. Their demonstration of the latest escape technique had quickly turned into a wrestling match. Red Robin had let it go, to let the kids burn off a little energy.

“Robin,” Speedy called, “Didn’t think you were coming tonight.”

“Something came up,” Robin said, “It was unavoidable.”

“Are you going to tell us about it,” Mercury asked from the training room floor.

Robin nodded, “Yes, I am. It concerns all of us. Go get some chairs and gather around. Red Robin, thank you for watching them. You can go.”

The youths scampered off to grab chairs, and Red Robin smiled at Robin, “I’m dismissed?”

Robin rolled his eyes, “Batman wants you to go up to the Watchtower for the rest of their meeting.”

Red Robin cocked his head to the side, “Really? I wonder why.”

Robin shrugged, “Probably because Cyborg and Starfire were supposed to show up and never did. That, and you just spent an hour with my team. They probably want your insight into them.”

Red Robin patted Robin on the shoulder and turned to head for the exit, “Okay. See you later. Kids, it’s been fun. See you around.”

After Red Robin left, Robin turned back to his group and found them sitting behind him. Robin looked around and asked, “You didn’t get me a chair?”

“You didn’t ask for one,” Beast Boy said with a smile.

Robin sighed, and Mercury disappeared from the group. He reappeared behind Robin with a chair, then took his seat again, “There you go, Rob.”

“Thank you,” Robin said, taking a seat. “I’m sorry I’m late tonight. Something happened that I wasn’t warned about ahead of time.”

“Are you…taking another break,” Impulse asked nervously.

Robin shook his head, “No. This has nothing to do with trauma or therapy or anything like that. I was asked to attend the first half of tonight’s Justice League meeting.”

“Without us,” Superboy asked, “Are they making you one of them now?”

“Yes, without you,” Robin said, “and no, I have not been made a full member of the Justice League. Before you all start to think the wrong things, I wasn’t given advanced notice of this meeting. I wasn’t told about attending the meeting until the last minute; not until Batman and I were ready to leave for our meetings. Superman even said that this was purposefully kept from me…from us, until the last minute.”

“Well, why,” Beast Boy asked.

Robin shrugged, “I guess they wanted my answers to their questions to be genuine, not rehearsed.”

“What was the meeting about,” Mercury asked.

“Us,” Robin replied, “The team. You might not be aware of this, but we have been together as a team for two years.”

There was a general murmur along the lines of ‘wow’ as Robin continued, “They asked for my evaluation of all of you individually, and all of us as a team.”

“What did you tell them, Dude,” Beast Boy asked nervously.

Robin eyed the green teen, “I told them the truth. You all are good. We work well as a team, but we need more work to become an effective operational unit.”

“An operational unit,” Impulse asked, “Are we going to be given missions?”

“No,” Robin said, then gave a smirk, “Not yet, at least.”

The group gasped as Robin continued, “Somewhere along the line, much in the same way we did, the Justice League stopped thinking of us as a training group, and started thinking of us as a team. It’s time we started acting like a team. Our training is changing. We will still do skills training, but we will focus more on skills necessary to complete missions. First, and foremost, Mount Justice is no longer our training area. This is our Headquarters. We are an official team under the Justice League, and this is our base of operations. I’ll get all of our access changed, so we all will have access to all areas of Mount Justice. When we take monitoring shifts, they can be done from here. Those nametags on the bedroom doors are permanent now.”

The team had started chatting excitedly amongst themselves about the prospect of what Robin was telling them. Robin let them talk for several long minutes, until they settled themselves down.

Speedy asked Robin, “So, what will this all look like?”

Robin leaned back in his chair, “We are still very much a training group. We will be given supervised missions, training tasks, and test situations for the next four years.”

“Four years,” Mercury asked, “Why so long?”

“For a couple reasons,” Robin said, “You’ve all patrolled in your home cities. You all know how dangerous that can be. Team missions won’t be any easier, and the League wants us to be as prepared as possible. They also set the restriction that our team will not take solo team missions until all of us are at least sixteen years old. That means we have four years to prepare.”

It wasn’t done maliciously, or with scorn, but several furtive glances found their way in Superboy’s direction. The youth noticed, and called it out.

“What? It’s not my fault I’m only twelve.”

“No, it’s not,” Robin said, “and none of us are blaming you. Even if we all were sixteen right now, we would still be starting out the same way, with more training. We all need more time to get better. We need the time to become a cohesive team. Four years from now, we could rival the Justice League. We sure as hell will blow the Titans out of the water.”

“Will…will this team last four years,” Impulse asked nervously.

Robin cocked his head in confusion, “What do you mean?”

Impulse looked down, “Well, four years from now, where will we all be? Superboy will be starting his senior year in high school. Mercury, Speedy, and I will be getting ready to start college. Beast Boy will probably be in college. You’ll probably have already graduated college, and will most likely be married. Will we be able to stay together as a team?”

Now that the question had been asked, Robin saw it reflected on all of the faces in front of him. Impulse wasn’t the only one to have this doubt; she was just the first one to bring it out into the open.

“If we work at it, and make a commitment,” Robin said, “If we want it, we can make it work. It’s just going to take some effort.”

“She’s got a point,” Mercury said sadly, “I mean, we’ll probably all have jobs in four years. You’ll probably have kids by then.”

“Having kids and holding jobs has never stopped our parents from being heroes or maintaining Justice League membership,” Robin said gently, “Look, I’m not saying everything will remain the same as we get older. I can guarantee things will change. We can make it work, if we want to.”

Robin was not getting the reaction he thought he would to tonight’s announcement. _I thought the whole team would be onboard for this. I knew there would be nerves, but not on this level. Why does it seem like I’m the only one excited for this?”_

Robin eyed his team for a long second before changing direction, “Maybe I’m asking the wrong question here. Maybe I should be asking if this is something you all want. Just know, no one is being forced to do anything here. The prospect of turning this group into an operating team is still just an idea. None of us are being forced to be here or to participate. This also isn’t an ‘all or nothing’ proposition. It’s possible that a team can be made without everyone participating. It’s also possible that we could all want to form a working team, and it not happening. So, before we move ahead, I want you all to take some time and really think about what you want to do, and I want you to think on your own. Take your time and think about what you want to do. Don’t let anyone influence your decision. Most of all, don’t let me influence you. Don’t think about me at all. Think about what is going to be best for you. If you can’t come up with an answer tonight, that’s okay. Go home. Discuss it with your families. This is a very serious proposition, and it’s not something to be taken up lightly.”

Robin stood and said, “Take your time to make the right decision for you. If any of you want to talk, I’ll be in my quarters. Please, think hard about what you want to do. This is _your_ decision. Don’t let anyone make it for you. There will be no hard feelings if anyone doesn’t want to be on an operating team. The training group won’t change due to the possibility of taking missions.”

Robin fell silent for a second before nodding and walking out of the training room. Robin made sure to keep a measured pace, not too fast or too slow, to not unduly influence the kids. He headed to his quarters, and only released his sigh once he was safely closed inside the room. Robin shook his head as he unclipped his cape and threw it over the back of the desk chair. Robin pulled his gloves off, then peeled his mask off before setting them on the desk and flopping down on his bunk.

Damian had barely folded his arms behind his head before a knock sounded on his door.

“Come in, Jon,” Damian called out.

The door opened, and Superboy stuck his head into the room, “How did you know it was me? Are you tracking us again?”

“Come in. Close the door,” Damian said, “As to how I knew it was you, I saw the look on your face while I was talking to the team. I knew you would be here soon.”

Jon stared at Damian for a second, trying to decide where to start. “You took your stuff off.”

“Yep,” Damian said, “Just speak freely. Names are okay right now.”

“Oh,” Jon said with a smile, “Well, I’m in. I want us to be a team.”

“I know,” Damian said, “Out of everyone on the team, you were the one I didn’t have any doubts about.”

“You have doubts about the team,” Jon asked.

Damian shook his head, “I have doubts about what decision they’re going to make. I don’t have doubts about them.”

“Oh,” Jon said, “Well, what now?”

Before Damian could answer, another knock sounded on the door. Damian said, “For now, just relax. Don’t talk about your decision with anyone else just yet. I want everyone to make up their mind on their own. Now, let Irey in on your way out.”

Jon opened the door and felt his jaw drop as he found Irey on the other side. Jon turned back to Damian and asked, “How did you know it was her?”

Damian smirked, “I know my team. Close the door on your way out, Jon, and remember what I asked you to do.”

Jon nodded, “Okay, Damian.”

The boy left the room, and the girl entered the room and closed the door.

Irey took a deep breath and said, “Damian?”

“It’s okay, Irey. Just say what’s on your mind.”

Irey looked down, “I…I want the team to continue. I’m in. I’m all for it.”

“I know,” Damian said.

“You know,” Irey asked, “How?”

Damian turned his head to look directly at the girl, “I saw how confused you looked when I backpedaled on the team. You were ready to move ahead as soon as I said we were changing the team dynamic. I just wanted everyone to think hard about this decision.”

“Oh…but, why?”

“Because this isn’t skills training anymore,” Damian said, “We’re transitioning into purpose-led training. Missions aren’t safe. There are no ‘do-overs’ in the field. If we’re going to be a field-rated team, we need to be ready, and we need to take it seriously.”

Irey swallowed, then nodded, “Well, I’m in.”

Damian nodded as a rapid-fire knock landed on his door. “Good. Please, keep your decision to yourself for now. You can let Jai in on your way out.”

Irey looked at Damian strangely, “What makes you think it’s Jai knocking on the door?”

“You heard how fast that knock was,” Damian said, “Who else could it be?”

Irey shrugged as she opened the door to let her brother in.

“What are you doing in here, Irey,” Jai asked as the girl walked out of the room.

“Talking to Damian,” Irey said as she closed the door behind her.

Jai stared at the door for a second before turning to look at Damian, who was still laying on the bed.

“You look nice and relaxed, D,” Jai said.

Damian shrugged, “Getting there. What did you want to say, Jai?”

Jai looked away, “I, um, I’m in. I guess.”

“You guess,” Damian asked, “This isn’t a decision you should guess about. We’re talking about becoming a functioning, mission-completing team under the Justice League. If you’re going to do this, you better be sure.”

Jai sighed and sat on the end of the bed. He rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor, “I’m nervous, okay?”

“I know,” Damian said, “We all should be nervous. This is a big step.”

“But, we’re _not_ all nervous,” Jai said, “I just don’t know if I’m good enough to be a part of the Justice League.”

Damian had long suspected that Jai harbored that fear. “That’s why we’re looking at four years of intensive training, if we decide to move ahead. You don’t have to be ready now. All you have to do is what you think is best for you.”

The room fell silent for close to a minute, until Jai looked over with a pained look on his face, “Can I tell you my answer tomorrow? I…I want to talk to my parents about this.”

Damian sat up next to Jai and rested a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “I think that’s a good idea. Don’t let anyone make this decision for you, and don’t put yourself on a time limit. Remember, I took two months to make my decision about joining this team before we started. If it takes you that long, or longer, that’s okay.”

Jai turned and nervously hugged Damian, “Thanks, man. I thought you’d be mad at me.”

“For taking your time and thinking about an important decision,” Damian asked, returning the hug, “I’d be mad if you _didn’t_ think about it.”

The boys separated, and Jai looked far less conflicted than he had when he entered the room. “Well, now what,” Jai asked.

“What do you want to do,” Damian asked.

Jai looked down again, “I kind of want to go home and talk to Mom.”

Damian nodded, “Then, do that. I’ll let the team know where you are.”

“Thanks, D,” Jai said, standing and heading for the door, “I’ll talk to you soon.”

Jai left the room, and Damian laid back down. _Hmm. I didn’t think Jai would be the one to have that level of nerves. I guess that means he’s taking this seriously._

Damian stared at the ceiling for another fifteen minutes before a soft, hesitant knock sounded from his door.

“Come in, Lian,” Damian called out.

The girl walked into the room and asked, “How did you know it was me?”

_This is getting repetitive,_ Damian thought. “Close the door, please.”

Lian closed the door and leaned against Damian’s desk, “Did you know it was me because I’m the last one to come talk to you?”

Damian shook his head as he sat up, “No. You’re thorough, and deliberate, like me. I knew you would take your time to make a decision. I also know you haven’t made that decision yet. Difference between you and the rest of the team is that you aren’t looking for my help in making your decision, or looking for me to tell you what to do.”

Lian shook her head, “I’ll never figure out how you do that.”

“A lifetime of training in how to read people and situations,” Damian said. He then smiled, “You’re a lot closer to being able to do that than anyone else on the team. You’re very analytical.”

Lian sighed, “How long do I have to make my decision?”

“As long as you need,” Damian said.

“Did anyone ask our parents about this new team,” Lian asked.

“Your father was in the meeting I attended earlier,” Damian replied.

Lian asked, “What did he say?”

“I’ll let you ask him that,” Damian said, “but, when Superman called for a vote on if the League wants us to move forward with changing up our training, he voted yes.”

Damian and Lian stared at each other for just short of a minute before Lian released a breath. “I’ve made my decision. I’m in.”

Damian smiled, “Good. I think you were the only one on the team that I wasn’t sure about which way you were going to go. I would ask you to keep your decision to yourself for now. I don’t want anyone influencing anyone else here.”

Lian nodded, “Okay, Damian. I really like that you’re leaving this decision up to us, instead of just telling us what’s going to happen next.”

Damian shrugged as he laid down again, “If you’re going into something that is potentially life-threatening, you should have a say in it. It’s your life, and you only get one.”

Lian smirked as she headed for the door, “Tell that to Uncle Jason.”

Damian smiled up at his ceiling after Lian left. _I wasn’t sure how she would vote. Maybe I shouldn’t count on her sticking around, though. Her father seemed more concerned about the prospect of Lian and Jai dating than her joining an operating team. He might not want her around Jai anymore. On the other hand, maybe Jai will be more attentive and diligent in his work if he has someone to protect, other than his sister._

Damian released a contented sigh and said out loud, “Well? Did spying on everyone else help you make your decision?”

Damian smiled as a flustered voice sounded from under his bed, “What? Did you know I was here the whole time?”

A bright green spider climbed up the side of the bed and stopped on Damian’s hand. Damian looked down at the tickle on the back of his hand and freaked out.

“Oh, shit!”

Damian flicked his hand, sending the green spider flying, while jumping off of his bed and taking a fighting stance.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Don’t do that! I! Don’t! Like! Spiders!”

Garfield transformed back into himself while smiling widely and laughing. “Come on, Dude. A little spider isn’t going to hurt you.”

“Damn right, it’s not,” Damian said, “Especially when it’s splattered on the bottom of my shoe. You know, if I step on you when you’re a spider, it’s not considered murder.”

“Why do you hate spiders so much,” Garfield asked, “You love animals.”

“Spiders aren’t animals. They’re the spawn of hell.” Damian looked down before speaking again, “Too many legs. Too many eyes. No way of telling their intentions until they fill you with venom, or lay eggs in your ear when you’re sleeping.”

Garfield walked up to the shorter teen and laid a hand on Damian’s shoulder with a sigh, “Who hurt you, D? I thought you were in therapy.”

Damian smirked up at Garfield, “Dinah doesn’t like spiders, either.”

The boys laughed, and Damian asked, “So, did you make a decision?”

Garfield looked down as he leaned against Damian’s desk, “I need to talk it over with my Mom. If she says it’s okay, I’m in. She’s probably going to want to talk to someone about it, though.”

Damian nodded, “Call me tomorrow. Your mother can speak with Father. He can give her details.”

Garfield said, “That’s good, because she’s going to want to know more than I can tell her.”

Damian took a breath, then put his cape and gloves on again, “Alright. That’s everyone, then. Come on, let’s end this for tonight.”

Robin pressed his mask back over his eyes and walked out of his quarters, with Beast Boy following. Finding the rest of his group in the Rec Room, Robin knocked on the door frame as he entered the room.

“Hey, everyone, we’re going to end here for the night. Go home, get some rest. I’ll be in touch with all of you soon.”

Impulse looked up nervously, “Hey, where’s Mercury?”

“He already went home,” Robin said.

“Is he okay,” Speedy asked.

Robin regarded the girl. _Hmm. Maybe my guess about her feelings for Mercury was right._ “He’s fine. He just has a lot to think about, like all of us do. Go on, head home. We’ll pick this up on another night.”

_Several Minutes Later…_

“You’re home earlier than I thought you’d be, Kiddo.”

Damian looked up as Bruce walked into the showers in the Cave. Damian had finished his shower and was dressing for bed.

Damian shrugged, “Well, we did what we needed to.”

Bruce smirked, “You came up with a foolproof battle strategy for your team already?”

“We didn’t get that far,” Damian said.

“What do you mean?”

“They aren’t ready for the thought of becoming a functional team yet,” Damian said.

“Do we need to postpone next weekend’s plans,” Bruce asked worriedly.

“I don’t know yet,” Damian said, then sighed, “I really thought they’d be excited for this, Father. I started talking about changing our training to focus on mission-specific topics, with a goal of taking missions once Jon is old enough, and they started questioning if we’ll even still be a team that far down the road. I think they started thinking about the future for the first time, and it scared some of them.”

Bruce turned off his shower and began toweling himself off, “Is anyone for the idea?”

Damian nodded, “Jon and Irey jumped at the idea. Gar needs to clear it with his mother first, but he wants to do it. His mother should be calling you tomorrow for more details.”

“Was Lian the holdout,” Bruce asked.

Damian shook his head, “No, actually. She just needed a little time to think. Jai is the holdout.”

“Really,” Bruce asked in shock, “I didn’t see that happening. What’s his reason?”

Bruce sat down on the bench after pulling his pajamas on and let Damian lean into his side. Damian said, “His worry was my worry. Jai doesn’t think he is ready to be a part of the Justice League, and he was scared that I’d be mad at him for it.”

“Were you,” Bruce asked.

Damian shook his head, “Of course not. If we’re going to do this, I will throw difficult situations at them for training. I want everyone to be ready, and to go into this willingly, with open eyes. I told him to take as long as he needs to make his decision. I told everyone that, actually.”

“How did the meeting go,” Bruce asked.

Damian leaned his head against Bruce’s shoulder, “I told them about what happened in the Justice League meeting. When I got to how our training would change, they started airing their doubts. I backed off and told them to think about what they wanted to do. I told them to make up their own minds, and not let anyone, especially me, influence them. I told them I’d be in my room if they wanted to talk. I barely got into my quarters before Jon came in and told me he is in. Irey came while Jon was in my room to tell me she is for it, too. Jai came in after Irey. He wants to join the team, but he is scared that he isn’t good enough to be on the team without being a hindrance. He left early to go home and talk to his parents. I expect to hear from him tomorrow. He said he’d call, too. Lian waited a while before coming to talk to me. She’s nervous, too, but when I told her that her father was in your meeting and voted for the team, she said that made up her mind. She’s in.”

Damian yawned expansively, bringing a smile to Bruce’s face. 

“What about Garfield,” Bruce asked, rubbing a hand gently up and down Damian’s spine.

Damian gave a small smile at the soothing touch, “Gar snuck into my quarters as a spider and listened in as I talked to the rest of the team.”

“Were you okay with that?”

Damian shrugged, “Listening, yes. Spider, no. Garfield almost died tonight.”

“And he still wants to join your team,” Bruce asked with a smile.

“That will all be up to your conversation with his mother,” Damian said, “He was smart enough to say he needs to clear it with her first. I ended our meeting after that. What Gar and Jai decide will decide how we move on. I did tell them that, if we don’t become a team, we will still be a training group.”

“Sounds like you did a good job, Kiddo,” Bruce said, “Come on, it’s bed time.”

Damian wrapped his arms around Bruce’s neck, bringing a smile to Bruce’s face, “Aren’t you a little big to be carried up to bed, Pal? If we were in the sitting room, maybe, but not from down here.”

Damian released a breath, “It was worth a shot.”

Father and son walked out of the cave and up to the Residence Wing. Instead of heading for his own bedroom, Damian followed Bruce into his. No words passed between the duo as they climbed into the bed.

Bruce curled himself around his boy and whispered, “Good night, kiddo.”

“Yes, it is,” Damian murmured back before falling asleep.

_Sunday…_

“Hey, D! Good morning!”

Damian smiled even as he rolled his eyes at the cheerful voice on the other end of his phone line. “Morning for you, Garfield. It’s one in the afternoon here.”

Damian could hear Garfield roll his eyes, “Close enough. Hey, everything still looks good for the…you know. Mom wants to talk to your dad. Is he available?”

“That depends,” Damian said, “How many legs do you have right now?”

“Ten, actually.”

Damian’s eyes widened in shock, “What?”

“I’m sitting in the pool, spending some time as a squid,” Garfield said while laughing, “What would you have done if I said eight, Mr. Arachnophobe?”

“I would have taken the Tube to Titan’s Tower, a taxi to your house, and hit you with a shoe.”

“You’d hit an octopus with a shoe,” Garfield asked, “Who throws a shoe? Honestly.”

Damian was having a very hard time not laughing along with his friend. “Let me see if this is a good time for Father. Hold on.”

Damian walked downstairs from his bedroom, where he had been drawing, and started searching for his Father. The front sitting room was empty. So was the dining room, kitchen, and den.

“Are you still there, D?”

Damian shook his head, “I’m here. I can’t find Father.”

Damian opened the door to Bruce’s study, only to find the room empty.

“Is it that hard to find him,” Garfield asked.

Damian stood in the hall, looking lost, “It’s a big house, Gar. Have you been here before?”

“Just to the cave, that one time,” Garfield said.

_The Cave,_ Damian thought, _he’s probably down there._

Damian started hurrying for the secret passage, “Hmm. We’ll have to do something about that some time. Or, are you still not allowed to come back to Gotham City?”

“I don’t know,” Garfield said, “I probably wouldn’t be allowed alone to the city, but your house would probably be okay.”

_There he is…what are they doing here?_

Damian entered the Cave to find Bruce standing near the Zeta Tube, talking to Wally and Jai. “Found him, Garfield.”

“Okay,” Garfield said, “Let me get Mom.”

Jai noticed Damian walking over and waved. Bruce turned to see his son walking over with his phone pressed against his ear.

“Hello?”

Damian stopped at the new voice in his ear, “Hello, Mrs. Logan. This is Damian. Let me get Father for you.”

“Okay. Thank you, Damian,” the woman said.

“Hold on a second.” Damian stopped next to Bruce and said, “It’s Mrs. Logan, Father.”

Bruce nodded and took the offered phone, “Hello, Mrs. Logan. This is Bruce Wayne. Can I get your phone number and call you back in just a minute?”

Bruce walked away to the computer, to take down the woman’s number. He was actually done with his other conversation. Bruce just wanted to call her from a secure line.

“What are you two doing here,” Damian asked the two speedsters.

Jai gave a bright smile, “I talked about the team with Mom and Dad, like you said. It really helped. I’m in. I want to be on your team.”

“Our team,” Damian corrected, “It’s not my team. This belongs to all of us equally.”

“Really,” Jai asked.

Damian nodded, “If you want it enough to make it yours, it will be yours. I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into, though. If you thought I worked the team hard before, just wait until you see what’s coming up next.”

Damian turned to look at Wally, “What do you think about all of this, West?”

Wally gave a warm smile, “I’m incredibly impressed that you gave the kids a choice in becoming a full team. That will go a long way with the rest of the League. Are we still on for next weekend?”

Jai looked up at his father in confusion, and Damian said, “I didn’t discuss that with the team yet. We’ll see what Father has to say about his current phone call.”

The trio looked off at Bruce, who was sitting at the Bat Computer, talking on one of the secure phone lines.

“Who is he talking to,” Wally asked.

“Garfield’s mother,” Damian said.

Wally nodded, “Yeah, we should have talked to her first, before bringing the idea up with you.” Wally nudged Jai and said, “Come on, you little speedster. Let’s go home.”

Jai waved again as the West’s headed for the Zeta Tube, “Okay, Dad. See you later, D.”

“Depending on what happens with Father’s call, I’ll give you and Irey a call. Probably tomorrow. Do either of you have plans this week?”

Jai shook his head, “Don’t think so. Talk to you later.”

The West men left the cave, and Damian wandered over to his Father slowly. By the time Damian reached Bruce, the man had ended his call and was watching his son approach.

Bruce handed Damian his phone back and took a deep breath, “Well, you have a full team. Are you going to propose the training to them now?”

Damian nodded, but kept Bruce’s tone in mind. It was colder than it should have been. “I’ll call everyone tomorrow, and see if we can meet at Mount Justice Tuesday night. Is that okay?”

“Should be fine,” Bruce said, rising to leave the cave.

Damian spoke quickly, “Father, are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”

Bruce stopped, and looked like he was carefully considering his response, “No. I’m not mad at you.”

“Well, what did I do, Father,” Damian asked, “These are the first words you’ve said to me all day.”

Bruce sighed, “It’s just, I noticed something, and I’m not sure what to make of it.”

“What is it, Father,” Damian asked.

Bruce sat down again and patted the chair next to him. Damian sat obediently in front of his Father. “Damian, what was last night?”

“Saturday,” Damian said in confusion.

Bruce shook his head, “No. You just suddenly felt like you needed to sleep with someone?”

Damian looked down, “I should have asked first. I’m sorry, Father.”

“It’s not that, Damian,” Bruce said, “I’m just wondering if this pattern is intentional. Selina and I went out to dinner on Friday night.”

“I know,” Damian said.

“And she spent the night,” Bruce said.

“I know.” Damian tried to hide his grumble, but couldn’t suppress it completely.

“And last night, you decided you couldn’t sleep without me.”

Damian didn’t respond this time.

Bruce leaned forward and looked Damian in the eye, “Son, are you jealous of the time I spend with Selina?”

Damian recoiled back, “No!”

Bruce just stared at his son, knowing the vehement reply was a lie. “How many times do we have to have this argument? I love you both. If you two would just sit down and talk, I guarantee you two would get along.”

“We’ve talked,” Damian said.

Bruce shook his head, “Damian, ’Pass the orange juice, trollop,’ is not talking. Do you know anything about her, other than what’s in her Catwoman file in the Computer?”

“Does she know anything about me,” Damian asked back.

“Selina and I have talked about you,” Bruce said, nodding, “You, on the other hand, leave the room every time I try to talk to you about her.”

“Why would she even want to know about me,” Damian asked.

“Because I’m important to her,” Bruce said seriously, “And you’re important to me. You’re probably the most important thing to me. She wants to see what I see.”

Damian sat silently, unable to meet Bruce’s eyes. Bruce reached out and took one of Damian’s hands, “Can you at least try to make an effort? You two don’t have to be best friends, but it would be nice if we can all have a meal together without an argument. Give her a chance, Son. You might be surprised.”

Damian glanced up furtively, and asked softly, “I’m the most important thing to you?”

Bruce smiled, remembering now how insecure his outwardly confident son really was. “Selina might stay as my girlfriend. She might become my wife. She might leave again. You will always be my son, no matter what happens with Selina. I don’t get why you react this way to her?”

Damian looked down again and mumbled, “You’ve never been serious about the other women you’ve brought home before.”

“So, you _are_ jealous.”

Damian’s eyes snapped up to meet Bruce’s. He stopped his initial statement, and instead said, “I’m cautious.”

“So am I, kiddo. Tell you what; I want you to have a nice, long talk…” Damian rolled his eyes, so Bruce squeezed his hand to get his attention, “With Alfred and Tim. See if they can alleviate some of your concerns.”

That wasn’t what Damian was expecting Bruce to say. “I…I guess I can do that,” Damian said.

Bruce sighed, “I’m just realizing that you’ve never had a set of parents. You had one, then the other, and you’ve always been the center of attention. Even when you’re with Robin’s family, you and Robin are still the center of attention, and you’re okay with sharing the spotlight, because it’s Robin and her parents. You’re okay with everything being focused on Robin there, because it’s her family. When you two are here, you get to be in the center, because this is your home.”

Damian rolled his eyes again, but it was only to cover his discomfort at the thought. “Do I really come off as that self-centered?”

“It’s all you’ve known, Damian,” Bruce said, “It’s okay, just something else to be aware of.”

Damian cocked his head and asked, “What does that have to do with sets of parents?”

Bruce explained, “I’m a single man, who has brought a new person into your life. You aren’t seeing yourself as the center of my world anymore. We’ve talked about this before. You aren’t losing me.”

Damian looked down again, “Mother never taught me how to share.”

Bruce chuckled, “I know, Kiddo. You don’t even like sharing me with your brothers. What do you say? Will you be civil if Selina comes over for dinner tonight?”

Damian took a slow, deep breath, and released it before saying softly, “I can try to be civil.”

_I guess that’s the best I can hope for right now,_ Bruce thought. He reached out and patted Damian’s left knee, “That’s all I can ask, for now. Go on, kiddo. Alfred said he’d be in the garden this morning.”

“Tim is in San Francisco this weekend, though,” Damian said.

“Then talk to Robin,” Bruce said, “She can help you get in the right frame of mind.”

Damian shook his head as he stood, “I don’t think she can get here by dinner.”

Bruce gave a bright smile, “You want to introduce Robin to Selina?”

“No,” Damian said firmly, “I…I’m not ready for that.”

Bruce eyed his son, “Because Robin and Selina would get along, which would force you to accept her, and you’re too stubborn to give up yet?”

Damian glared at his Father and said sharply, “This isn’t easy for me, Father. I’m not good with change; you know that. I’m not comfortable with this.”

Bruce sighed as Damian headed for the stairs, “So, civil dinner is out?”

Damian stopped at the base of the stairs, “We’ll see, after I talk to Alfred.”

_After Dinner…_

“Good night, Miss Kyle.”

Selina nodded, “Good night, Damian.”

Damian walked out of the den, and Selina leaned back on the couch, into Bruce’s side.

“That seemed to go well,” the woman said.

“Could have been better,” Bruce said, “Maybe I should have asked for something more than civil.”

“Am I that much of a threat to him,” Selina asked, not sure she actually wanted an answer to her question, “What do I have to do to connect with him?”

Bruce sighed, “It doesn’t help that he read my file on Catwoman before he ever met you. He still thinks you’re on a long con, to try to get something from us.”

The couple sat quietly for a minute before Bruce asked, “This _isn’t_ a long con, is it?”

Selina smirked, “Yes, Bruce. It’s the longest con in history. I’ve been working you since we met, in 1984. You’re almost ready for the payoff.”

Bruce smiled, but it faded quickly, “When you put it that way, it makes marriage sound like the ultimate con job.”

Selina’s jaw dropped for a quick second, “Did you just propose to me, Bruce Wayne?”

Bruce leaned over and kissed Selina’s cheek, “I won’t lie, I’ve thought about it. I think I’ll hold off for now, though. At least until you and Damian can spend more than an hour in the same room together.”

“So, you’re never going to ask,” Selina asked.

“He takes time,” Bruce said, “It was two years before he started to like Tim.”

A black and white cat walked into the den and jumped up on the couch. The cat turned in a circle once before laying down next to Selina.

The woman smiled, “Well, hello there. I didn’t know you had a cat, Bruce.”

Bruce internally cringed as Selina scratched the cat’s ears, “He’s Damian’s. That is Alfred the Cat.”

Selina just barely stopped herself from laughing, “Damian named his cat after your butler?”

“Alfred got the cat for him,” Bruce said, “Damian said the black and white fur pattern made it look like the cat was wearing a tuxedo.”

Selina lifted her hand off of the cat’s head, “Should I not pet the cat?”

“What sort of Catwoman would you be if you didn’t pet the cat?”

Bruce and Selina looked towards the door of the den at the sound of Damian’s voice.

Selina sputtered for a second, then said, “He just jumped up here on his own. I didn’t know you had a cat.”

“He looks happy where he is, Damian,” Bruce said over the loud purr the cat was giving off. “You can join us, if you want to keep track of him.”

Bruce and Selina seemed to hold their breath, waiting for Damian’s decision. Bruce fully expected Damian to snatch the cat off of the couch and run off to his room.

Slowly, Damian walked into the den and sat on the edge of an arm chair. “You may pet the cat,” Damian said.

Bruce released a breath in relief. Selina’s hand returned to the fuzzy head, “He’s a good-looking kitty. You can tell he’s well taken care of.”

“Thank you,” Damian said softly.

“I half-expected you to throw Titus at us,” Bruce said with a smile.

Damian rolled his eyes as Selina asked, “Titus?”

Bruce smirked, “Damian’s Great Dane.”

Selina looked up at Damian, “Throwing a dog at Catwoman?”

Damian didn’t quite hide his evil smirk, “I was considering using Batcow.”

Selina stared blankly, “I’m sorry, did you say…”

“Batcow,” Damian said again.

Selina turned to Bruce, “Is that some sort of undercover tool you developed for Batman work?”

Bruce shook his head, “No, it’s just a cow.”

“A cow?”

“A cow,” Damian said, “A bull, to be exact.”

Selina shook her head, “I’m sorry, I don’t think my ears are working. It sounded like you just said that you own a cow.”

“I don’t know if you can say own,” Damian said, “We didn’t really buy him.”

“You stole a cow,” Selina asked in shock.

Damian smirked, “Bet you never tried to get away with one of those.”

“You didn’t really steal him,” Bruce said as Selina shook her head, “I’d always heard it was more of a liberation.”

“There has to be a story behind that,” Selina said.

“Go ahead, Kiddo,” Bruce said.

Damian eyed Bruce for a second, and Bruce couldn’t quite interpret the look. It was a cross between embarrassment and disappointment.

_I don’t want him using that name, or any nickname, in front of Miss Kyle. She’ll think it’s okay to get familiar with me. I’m having a hard enough time with her petting my cat._

“Well, one night, as Batman and Robin, when it was…” Damian looked down, hating that this story made him think of Dick, “When Father was gone. We chased a suspect through a slaughterhouse. I slipped in some blood, and when I looked up, there was Batcow. He…he needed my help. I couldn’t leave him there. The other cows we ran past all ran from us, but not Batcow. I took him home, instead of continuing the chase.”

“Wow,” Selina said.

Damian looked down, “I like animals better than people, most of the time.”

Selina smiled, “So do I, Damian. Well, unfortunately, I have an early morning tomorrow, and I need to prepare for the job. I’ll have to go. Thanks for a nice evening.”

Bruce and Damian walked Selina to the door, and Bruce asked, “Is it a big job?”

“Pretty big,” Selina said.

Damian smirked, “The crown jewels exhibit doesn’t open at the Fine Arts Museum until next week.”

Bruce turned his head and glared at Damian. Bruce opened his mouth to scold his son, but Selina cut him off, “Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll have to add it to my calendar.”

Selina gave Bruce a short kiss before leaving. Bruce closed the door, then turned around, surprised to find Damian still standing behind him.

“That was uncalled-for, Damian.”

“Just making conversation, Father,” Damian said.

“No, you weren’t,” Bruce snapped, “You were trying to imply that she’s only here to continue a criminal career that she gave up five years ago. How would you like it if she talked about some murder spree she saw on the news, then asked if you were involved?”

Damian didn’t answer, and after a second, Bruce continued, “You wouldn’t like it anymore than she had to like your crack just now. Why don’t you go up to your room and think about that.”

Bruce started to walk away, but stopped when Damian spoke softly, “Father?”

“Yes?”

Damian looked up with fire in his eyes, “I would prefer if you didn’t refer to me by a nickname in front of Miss Kyle. She might get the idea that it is acceptable for her to use.”

“Go to your room,” Bruce said coldly.

“Gladly,” Damian shouted, spinning on his heel and stalking away.

It took a great deal of effort for Bruce to not follow Damian upstairs to continue the argument. Bruce instead walked towards his study, looking for a drink, when he almost ran into Alfred.

The butler looked at his employer and said, “Can I assume that the after-dinner conversation did not go as well as the dinner conversation?”

“You can assume that, Alfred,” Bruce said, then sighed, “Why can’t he just try? All of his brothers have loved Selina. He couldn’t care less. He goes out of his way to push her away.”

“If you will remember, Master Damian did the same thing with all of us,” Alfred said, “It’s his way of knowing who will truly be there for him. Ten years of abuse, manipulation, psychological and physical torture, all at the hands of someone who forced him to call her mother and basically told him to love her or else, changes a person. Frankly, it is amazing that he can function in society at all.”

Bruce thought deeply, “So, you’re saying, he is repeating the pattern his mother started? Does he do this to see who will stick around? If he pushes us away and we come back, it tells him that we really are there for him?”

“That seems to be his pattern,” Alfred said.

“Why is he pushing Selina so hard, then,” Bruce asked, “Do you think he wants a new mother?”

“Possibly, sir.”

“Then why not just say it?”

Alfred stared at his employer, “When has Master Damian willingly expressed his feelings without coercion? Of course, the other possibility is that Master Damian is completely opposed to the thought of someone filling a mothering role for him. Given his experience with his mother, the concept could be forever tainted for him.”

Bruce stroked his chin in thought, “If I’d escaped an abusive mother, I wouldn’t be too eager to see if a new one was going to act differently.”

Alfred nodded, “Master Damian is very good at self-preservation.”

Bruce sighed deeply, “Thanks, Alfred. I should go talk to him, before he runs away again.”

_Upstairs…_

“No, it didn’t go well at all,” Damian said.

“Did she do something,” Robin asked through the Skype connection.

Damian shook his head, “No. Well, she pet my cat, but I told her she could. Alfred has never acted like that around anyone before.”

“You’re talking the cat, right?”

Damian had to check to see if Robin was joking. She was, in the hopes of calming her agitated fiancé.

“Yes, the cat. He laid down next to her on the couch. He doesn’t even do that with me. Well, very rarely.”

Robin sighed, “So, if she wasn’t the problem, does that mean you were?”

Damian sighed, wiping at an eye, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. She is a perfectly nice woman, and we could be good friends, if I didn’t feel like my head would fall off when I’m around her.”

Robin laughed at the remark, “What does that mean?”

Damian looked down, wiping his eyes again, “We could be friends, but we can’t be friends. I want to try, but every time I do, it feels wrong. She doesn’t want to be friends; she wants to be more. But, at the same time, I don’t know what that more is. I can’t read her. I don’t know what her motives are. Like, we’ll be talking, and everything will be going well, and I’ll get this…feeling. I can’t even describe it. I just…I have to run. I have to get out. I get short of breath, and…” Damian’s fist pounded on his leg, surprising Robin, “I can’t show weakness. I have to get out. I have to get out.”

“Damian, stop!” Robin leaned closer to the screen, nearly shouting at Damian to get his attention. She could see the beginning of his panic attack; could hear it in his voice. The last thing she needed to see was her boyfriend hyperventilating over a video feed. “Stop talking. Look at me. Look at me!”

Damian looked up, his eyes wide and chest heaving.

“Breathe with me, Lover,” Robin said, trying to remain calm, “Breathe with me. In…out. Slow it down. In…out. Again. In…out. Slower. In…out. Slower still. In…out.”

The color started to recede from Damian’s cheeks as he got his breathing under control. His eyes remained wide though, as a thought dawned on him. “I’m scared, Beautiful. I don’t know why this is happening, and I can’t control it.”

“Yes, you can,” Robin said immediately, “You can do anything; you just need a little help. You should talk to your Dad.”

Damian looked away from the screen, “He doesn’t want to talk to me. We already had one argument tonight. If I’m not already grounded, I’m sure I will be by the morning.”

Robin shook her head, “Damian, you need to talk to him. If being around Miss Kyle is giving you panic attacks, he needs to know that. What’s he going to say if the three of you are having dinner and you stop breathing and pass out at the dinner table? ‘Oh, will you look at that? Hey, pass the potatoes?’ No, it will scare him. Better that he knows now, instead of when he has to call your doctor when you start hyperventilating.”

“And what good will that do,” Damian asked, “I told you what Dinah said about my panic attacks; what she’d recommend if they got worse. Well, they’re getting worse. I absolutely refuse to be put on medication. That’s a large part of the reason I am the way I am. Mother drugged me up all the time, so she didn’t have to deal with me. I don’t want that again.”

Robin took a breath, knowing that her next thought would most likely be taken very poorly. “Would it really be so bad, if they gave you something that you would only take when you had a panic attack, if it helped you calm down? It would be like when you get a headache. You have a headache; you take an aspirin. You don’t keep taking them when the headache goes away. You stop, until you get another headache.”

Damian looked down and grumbled, “I still don’t like the idea of being on medications.”

“Look,” Robin said seriously, “you need to tell your Dad what’s happening. This is serious, Damian. It’s your health.” Damian looked up, and Robin continued, “If you don’t tell him, I will. I love you too much to see your health decline over something we can fix. I guarantee he won’t be mad at you.”

“How can you guarantee that,” Damian asked.

Bruce had heard enough. He walked in through the open bedroom door, where he had been standing and listening for the past ten minutes. “Robin can’t guarantee that, but I can.”

Damian whirled around at the new voice, and came very close to shouting, “You were spying on us!”

“If you wanted to have a private conversation, you should have closed the door,” Bruce said before sitting on the edge of the bed, “Why didn’t you tell me this was going on? I thought you were just being stubborn.”

Damian looked down, “Well, I was being _partly_ stubborn.”

“And partly panicked and unable to breathe,” Bruce asked.

Damian nodded.

“And you kept it hidden because,” Bruce asked.

Damian swallowed hard before speaking softly, “I talked to Dinah about it, hoping we could come up with a solution on our own. When she started talking about putting me on medications, I got scared. I thought, if you knew about that, you’d force me to take them. That’s what Mother used to do to me. I couldn’t even consider that.”

Bruce sighed, “Why didn’t you just come to me?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was just making up excuses to not be around Miss Kyle,” Damian said.

“So, instead, you pushed Selina away?”

Damian looked up, “Instead of hyperventilating in front of the both of you, yes.”

Bruce released a long breath, “Okay, we can still work this out. For now, we’ll slow down. To be honest, I’ve been pushing Selina on you, hoping that, if you two were together more, you’d get comfortable around her sooner. I’ll slow down on that, but I’ll have to explain to Selina why.”

Damian nodded, “Okay.”

“I’d also like to talk to Dinah with you,” Bruce said, “Have you told her about your history with and aversion to medications?”

“I told her I won’t be put on medications,” Damian said, “I didn’t tell her why, though.”

Bruce nodded, “Okay, we’ll talk about it. We can work this out. I want you two to be on good terms, but not if it’s going to hurt you.”

Damian nodded, looking down again. The pair was quiet for a minute, then Damian said, “I thought dinner went well, though.”

“I agree,” Bruce said, “it could have gone a bit better, but I assume that was just you trying to hold yourself together.”

“It was,” Damian said.

Bruce leaned closer to his son, “Why did you come back to the den? None of this would have happened in you didn’t, and we would have been fine.”

“I wanted to pet Alfred,” Damian said, “I came up here after dinner. He was laying on my bed, and petting him was helping me. He got up and left the room, so I followed him. I didn’t think we would end up in the den.”

Bruce released a breath, then stood up, “Damian, come here.”

Damian stood nervously and took a couple shuffling steps forward. Bruce grabbed Damian’s shoulders and pulled the teen into his chest.

Gripping the boy tightly, Bruce spoke softly, “I love you, Kiddo. We’ll get through this. Just be honest with us about how you’re feeling. You can take as many breaks as you need, until you’re comfortable with Selina. Just tell us how you’re feeling.”

Damian’s arms wrapped around his father tightly as he finally started to relax. “I love you, Dad.”

From behind the embracing pair, a call of, “Aww!” was heard. Bruce and Damian looked back to see Robin staring at the father-son duo adoringly from the laptop screen.

Damian smiled sheepishly, “Oh, right. See, Father, this is why Robin needs to be around more. If she hadn’t been able to calm me down earlier, you and I would have gotten into another shouting match.”

Bruce looked down at his son, “If Alfred hadn’t been able to calm me down, you would probably be right.”

“It’s a good thing people love you two,” Robin said.

Bruce released a breath, “How are you feeling, Robin?”

“Today was a good day,” Robin said, “I was able to complete my therapy without having to take a break. After that, I was able to get up and down the stairs five times before getting too winded to continue.”

“That’s good,” Bruce said.

“Mr. Wayne, could you please hug Damian for me,” Robin asked, “My arms won’t stretch that far.”

“Of course, Robin,” Bruce said, squeezing the teen again.

“I’m going to go,” Robin said, “It’s almost time for dinner, and it takes me a while to get down the stairs these days.”

“Thank you, Robin,” Damian said, “You really helped me out tonight. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Lover,” Robin said with a wink before disconnecting the line.

Damian looked up and asked, “Well, Father?”

“Well, what,” Bruce responded.

“How long am I grounded?”

“Until midnight,” Bruce said, “No patrol for you tonight.”

Damian looked up strangely, “We weren’t going out tonight, anyway. You said you have an early meeting with Finance tomorrow.”

Bruce winked, “Then, I guess it will be a fairly easy punishment, Kiddo.”

“What sort of sign should we come up with for when I need breaks around Miss Kyle,” Damian asked, “I can’t just wave my arms or start turning blue when I stop breathing.”

Bruce smiled, “Why don’t you just say you need to take a break? I’ll explain all of this to Selina. If you tell us, then maybe we can study this, to hopefully help you get better. We can figure out what’s going on when you start feeling this way, and maybe come up with a pattern. We can see what to avoid in the future.”

Damian rolled his eyes, “You know, I don’t like being a lab rat any more than I like being on medications.”

“Just for that, I’m extending your punishment,” Bruce said. Damian looked up with a sagging jaw. Bruce smirked, “You’re now grounded until one.”

“That’s not fair,” Damian exclaimed.

“Two,” Bruce said, with a widening smile, “You want to go for three?”

Damian’s gaze took on an evil bent, “That’s fine. Just remember, I decide your nursing home when you’re old.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bruce said with a smile, “You know, Jason used to threaten me with that one, too.”

Damian took a breath, “Are you going to supervise my punishment?”

Bruce met Damian’s eyes, “Do you think I need to?”

Damian shrugged, “Might not be a bad idea. You know how sneaky and defiant I can be.”

Bruce ruffled Damian’s hair, “Get ready for bed, Kiddo. We can talk for a bit before your punishment starts.”

Ten minutes later, Damian crawled into Bruce’s bed. Bruce was sitting up against his headboard, and smiled as he held up a hand.

“Why don’t you turn off the light, before you get comfortable?”

Damian gave an overdramatic sigh as he rolled off of the bed, turned off the light, and returned to the bed. Damian settled under Bruce’s arm, leaning against his father’s side. Bruce unconsciously laid his arm on Damian’s shoulders, then lifted it when Damian flinched.

“Sorry,” Bruce said softly, “Did that hurt, or is this some long-repressed memory warning you against cuddling with someone who is punishing you?”

Bruce could see Damian’s rolled eyes, even in the darkened room. “No, it hurt a bit. It’s okay. It’s weird, though. It doesn’t hurt all the time. I don’t know when it’s going to hurt. It didn’t bother me at all yesterday. It’s been…sensitive today, though.”

Bruce thought for a second, then reached over and stuck his hand down the back of Damian’s shirt. Damian gasped as Bruce’s hand came to rest on the boy’s shoulder blade, feeling the area of Damian’s worst burn.

Damian reached up and unbuttoned the top button of his pajama shirt to make room for him to breathe as Bruce moved his hand around.

“Tell me what you’re doing first, Father,” Damian said.

“Sorry, Kiddo,” Bruce said, “Does it hurt when I touch it?”

Damian shook his head, “No, it’s okay now.”

“Strange,” Bruce said, moving his hand beyond the graft, “You know, it’s really blending in better now. It’s getting harder to tell where you end and the graft begins.”

Damian looked down, “Too bad it doesn’t look like the rest of me.”

“Neither does the one on your side,” Bruce reminded his boy.

Damian released a breath through his nose. Bruce leaned closer and said softly, “I know you care about your looks. You are still a handsome boy. That never changed. You are healthy, and you are recovering more and more every day. Most importantly, you don’t have to worry about people seeing it. The only people that are going to see it have already seen it. As you’re growing up, you don’t seem to be worrying about the dating scene, or society hook-ups. You already found someone that you are completely fixated on, she absolutely adores you, and you both know everything about each other. She’s already seen your back, and didn’t go running for the hills. She saw it when it was scarred. She’s seen it since it was burned, and you don’t have to explain anything to her. It doesn’t matter what your grafts look like, because you don’t need to impress anyone. No one is going to stop loving you because your back looks different.”

Bruce’s hand left Damian’s back, but only went as far as the back of the teen’s neck, to give a relaxing massage. “Thanks, Dad,” Damian said softly.

The room fell silent for several minutes before Bruce asked, “When are you going to meet with your team?”

“Tuesday or Wednesday,” Damian murmured, close to falling asleep, “I’ll call them all tomorrow to see when everyone is available, then we’ll meet at Mount Justice to plot your downfall.”

Bruce smiled, “You think your team is that good?”

“You wouldn’t be giving us this test if the League didn’t think we were that good, or had the ability to be that good,” Damian said.

Bruce nodded, “Yeah. You know, I think I’m a little nervous for this test now.”

Damian gave a warm smile, “Good. That’s the idea. Oh, if Mount Justice is going to be my team’s headquarters, we need to have all the kids have full access to all levels of Mount Justice.”

“That’s a good idea,” Bruce said, “Your access gives you the ability to change the level of access within the Mountain. On the other hand, it will make things much easier on us if we contain your team on as few levels as possible.”

“Already looking for ways to cheat us, Father,” Damian asked.

Bruce flicked Damian’s earlobe before returning his hand to the back of Damian’s neck, “Like you’re not already plotting for every advantage you can get.”

“I guess that’s what I get for sleeping with the enemy,” Damian said as he turned onto his side and laid his head on Bruce’s chest. Damian released a contented breath before mumbling, “G’night, Father.”

Bruce laid down, wrapped an arm around his son, and sighed contentedly, “Love you, kiddo.”

_Tuesday Night…_

Robin stood at the main computer of Mount Justice, waiting a little less than patiently. He stood, staring at the Zeta Tube, willing his team to arrive. Robin had arrived early to set up for his meeting, but now, he had nothing left to do but wait.

Damian had called his team Monday morning, which wasn’t appreciated by Garfield. Damian hadn’t taken time zones into account. No one likes being awakened at five-forty-five in the morning by a ringing phone, especially when you’re a teenager, it’s summer, and your whole plan for the day involved sleeping for as long as possible. Damian had made up for it by explaining the need for a mid-week team meeting. Damian had been preparing for the meeting ever since.

Robin stood a little straighter, and stopped tapping his foot impatiently, as the Zeta Tube powered up and the computer announced Mercury and Impulse. The speedster twins stopped a few steps into Mount Justice and looked around. Robin waved the youths over. They disappeared, then reappeared next to the Boy Wonder.

“Hey, Rob,” Mercury said.

Robin gave a small smile, “Mercury, Impulse, thank you for coming tonight. Here, you’ll need these.”

Robin handed each speedster a pad of note paper. They looked at it in confusion, and Impulse asked, “A notepad? What do we need this for?”

“I’ll explain when everyone arrives,” Robin said, “You two are the first ones here tonight.”

While Robin had been speaking, the computer announced the arrival of Speedy. The archer wandered over to the small group and said, “Hi.”

_She almost sounds nervous,_ Robin thought as he picked up another notepad from his stack on the computer console, “Good evening, Speedy. We’ll get started once everyone arrives.”

Speedy took the notepad and looked at Robin in confusion, “Why do we need a notepad?”

“To take notes,” Robin said, like it should have been obvious, “I’ll explain more once we all are here.”

A minute later, Beast Boy was announced. He hurried over to the group and asked, “Am I late?”

“Right on time,” Robin said pleasantly, handing over another note pad, “We’re just waiting on Superboy, then we’ll get started.”

Five minutes later, Superboy came flying through the Zeta Tube and approached the group at high speed. “Sorry! Sorry I’m late. Mom gave me a bunch of chores I had to finish before I could come to the meeting. Did I miss anything?”

Robin expertly hid the wide smile he wanted to give to his brother, but he did let a small smile show through. He handed a notepad to Superboy and said, “We haven’t started yet. Now that we’re all here, we can get started. Let’s go.”

Robin picked up the rest of the notepads he had brought with him and walked to the elevator with the team. They entered, and Robin pushed a button.

Mercury watched the button light up, then said, “Training room is two levels down, not one.”

“We’re not going to the training room,” Robin said, “We’re going to the dining room.”

“Why the dining room,” Impulse asked.

Robin smirked at the reflection of his team in the elevator door, “Because I was able to disable the cameras in the dining room.”

The elevator doors opened, but not before Robin saw nervous looks cross all of his team’s reflected faces. Robin smirked as the team followed him down the hall, through the kitchen, and into the dining room.

The kids stopped at the door as they saw what had been set up in the dining room. A round table had been set up in the middle of the room, with six chairs around it. Each spot had an assortment of pens, markers, and highlighters, to go along with the notepads Robin had passed out when the team arrived. There were a collection of maps and schematics in the center of the table. A second table had been set up nearby, this one with an array of snacks. Healthy snacks, Mercury and Superboy noted with mild disappointment, as they looked over the trays of fruits and vegetables. There was also popcorn and pretzels, and a stack of cups and plates and napkins.

“What is all this,” Speedy asked.

“Please, sit down,” Robin said, gesturing to the seats.

“Where,” Mercury asked.

Robin rolled his eyes and deadpanned, “In the chairs.”

Mercury shook his head as Beast Boy and Superboy laughed, “I meant, do we have assigned seats?”

Robin shook his head, “No. Just choose one and take a seat.”

The kids sat down, getting strong school vibes.

Robin stood behind his chair, looking over his team, before he gave a smile and said, “Thank you. Thank you all for deciding to take the next step with this team. I’m hoping that, if you all are here, it means you get something out of this team. You find it valuable. I’m hoping you all spoke with your parents about what’s going to happen next for us. Our next phase starts tonight. You have all decided to move forward, so let me tell you what that means. From now on, we are no longer a training group. We are a team. Don’t get me wrong, we will still be training. There is a lot for us to learn. Yes, Mercury, even me.”

Mercury shut his mouth as Robin answered his unasked question.

Robin continued, “So far, I have been doing almost all of the teaching. I can continue that, if that is what you all want. If not, the League can appoint someone else to lead the team.”

Superboy gasped, “Are you leaving the team, Rob?”

“No,” Robin said, “but I will do what is best for this team, to make sure everyone is safe and as well-trained as you can be. If that means putting someone else in the spot I’ve been filling, then so be it.”

“I’m good with you leading us,” Superboy said.

“Me too,” Impulse and Mercury said at the same time. Speedy and Beast Boy both nodded quickly.

Robin gave a small blush, “Thank you for that. Even if I am the leader, that doesn’t mean that any of you are in any sort of lesser position. There is no I in team, as the stupid saying goes. If you will notice, we are sitting at a round table. I did this for a reason.”

“Are you naming our team the Knights,” Superboy asked.

Robin considered it for a second, then said, “We can discuss that when we get closer to being operational, but I’m glad you brought up the historical reference. That’s what I was going for. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The symbolism of the round table was used to express equality. There is no seat of superiority or inferiority at a round table.”

Robin finally took his seat at the table and looked around at his team, “At this table, and in this team, we are all equal. No one person has any more or less say, or power, or influence, than anyone else. Everyone’s opinions and thoughts are valid. Every single one of you has just as much say in what we do as I do. I want to make that perfectly clear. We are not a leader and followers. Yes, nominally, I will be the leader, as far as the League is concerned, but that might not always be the case. You all need to be able to act on your own, or to act in small teams, or be able to pair with anyone in the Justice League. Part of our training will include shadowing Leaguers on missions. That can be all of us together, just a few of us, or individually. Therefore, we all need to be able to lead, and to operate on our own. That’s why we’re looking at four years of training before we can begin to take solo team missions. Four years is the minimum, too. You all should expect training to continue long after that.”

“So, are you our leader, or aren’t you,” Speedy asked.

Robin thought for a second, “I guess I’m more of a director. I’ll direct our training as the League sees fit, but I shouldn’t always be relied on to lead. Like I said, I might not always be assigned to the same missions as you. I might get injured on a mission and be unable to lead at any time. A mission might come up that is aimed at any of your special talents or powers, and it would be inappropriate for me to lead. All of you need to be ready to take a leadership role at any time.”

The kids looked around at each other, until Impulse decided to speak up for the group, “Um, on our wilderness weekend, when we got attacked, you got hurt and you still were able to lead us.”

Robin winced at the memory, wondering how the team would take the true explanation of events. “Well, I guess, in the name of full disclosure, I can tell you all now that…that was planned ahead of time.”

“You _planned_ to break your leg,” Beast Boy asked in shock.

Robin shook his head, “No, I was not ordered to break my leg. My assignment, other than teaching you about wilderness survival, was to fake an injury, so you all would have to step up and learn you could survive on your own. Our landing made it unnecessary to fake an injury.”

“What kind of injury were you going to fake,” Superboy asked. Robin wasn’t sure if his tone was curious or hurt.

“Not that it matters now,” Robin said, “but you all know that I’ve had a knee replacement. I was going to tell you there was something wrong with the replacement joint.”

“Too bad our mission failed so badly,” Speedy said.

Robin smirked, “Did it?”

“How can you not call it a failure,” Speedy asked, “We didn’t accomplish our goal.”

“Are you sure about that,” Robin asked, “Sure, we didn’t make it to the plane, and there were several things we didn’t cover, but up until we got attacked, the mission was going to plan.”

“But nothing went right,” Mercury said.

Robin shrugged, “That’s how missions go sometimes. You can have nothing go right and still accomplish your mission. Think about what happened.”

“You got hurt,” Impulse said.

“Whether I actually got hurt or faked an injury, that was going to happen anyway.”

“Mercury nearly died,” Speedy said.

Robin looked at Mercury, “That was unexpected, but he seems to have made a full recovery.”

“You still led us out of the woods,” Superboy said.

Robin smirked again, “Did I? I guided our course, and taught you about identifying landmarks and nature survival, but all of you led. You decided our pace, how we got over and around obstacles, when we took breaks. All I did was navigate.”

The group was silent for a minute, realizing that Robin was right. Once they had enough time to realize this, Robin said, “Now that you realize you are capable of leading, let’s look at what is coming up for us next. Now, if you all remember our meeting on Saturday, I told you that Mount Justice is now our official home base. The League wants to test how well we act as a team, in a controlled environment, to establish a starting point for our next phase of training. They also want to test us on what I’ve taught you so far. Our mission is to defend Mount Justice from a mock invasion, which will be carried out by the League.”

“That should be easy,” Beast Boy said, “We just mob them when they come through the Zeta Tube.”

“If it were that easy, there would be no reason to do the whole exercise,” Robin said, “We established some ground rules in my meeting with the League. First, their objective is to access the main computer. So, stopping them from getting in isn’t the point. The point is what we do when they are in. Second, the Zeta Tube is off-limits. We are being attacked by the League, but in this case, the League is not playing the League. Since only the Justice League has access to the Zeta Tubes, they won’t be used in this situation.”

“Just because we have to stop them while they’re inside, doesn’t mean we have to let them in, or make it easy for them to get in,” Mercury said.

Robin smiled at the younger boy, “That’s the idea.”

“Well, if they can’t use the Zeta Tubes, how are they going to get in,” Beast Boy asked.

“We’ll cover that in a minute,” Robin said, “but there are regular doors leading into the mountain. Ten of them, to be exact.”

Superboy gasped, “I didn’t know there were that many.”

Robin nodded, “We’ll take a tour later to see them all. The third thing we discussed in the meeting is that powers are in play. I’m not sure if the League is going to use their powers, but they expect all of you to use your powers. The individual members will consider themselves stopped when normal force that would be used on patrol to stop your normal criminals is used against them. If we can get them down and bind them, that person is out. In the same vein, if we are knocked out or detained, we are out. Lethal force is absolutely forbidden on both sides.”

Impulse looked around the table and asked, “Is that what all of this is for?”

“Yes, it is,” Robin said, “We are coming up with our battle strategy tonight. Since it’s summer, we’ve been given permission to take as long as we need. If we want to spend the night here, that’s okay. I talked to all of your parents after talking to all of you yesterday, and permission was given for all of us to stay over. We will just have to call them if we decide on that.”

“Wait, we’re going over our battle plan tonight,” Beast Boy asked.

“We’re developing all new plans,” Robin said, “That’s why I made sure to emphasize our equality on this team. I want all of you coming up with ideas. There is no wrong answer or bad idea here tonight. In fact, the stranger, more impractical, more cartoonish, the better. We want to throw the League so far off their game that they can’t help but lose to us.”

Speedy smiled, “Is that why you disabled the cameras in here?”

Robin’s smile grew, “I don’t know how it works with the rest of the League, but spying, eavesdropping, and cheating are perfectly valid techniques in Batman’s arsenal.”

Speedy looked confused, “Batman has an Arsenal?”

Robin shook his head, understanding what the girl was saying, “Sorry. Little A, not big A. Maybe bag of tricks is a better description.”

“It’s less confusing,” Speedy said with a nod.

“How should we start,” Superboy asked.

“With a break,” Mercury said as he got up from the table, “Gotta pee.”

Robin nodded with a sigh, “Fine. Anyone else have to go? Now is as good a time as any.”

The rest of the group got up and left the room. Robin shrugged, and thought to himself, _Probably not a bad idea._

Several minutes later, Robin was the last one to return to the dining room. The group’s collective jaws dropped when they saw him. He had stopped by his quarters and ditched his mask and gloves.

“You feeling alright, Rob,” Mercury asked.

“I’m fine,” Damian said, “Real names are okay for tonight. It’s not easy to write while wearing those gloves, and I remembered my mask has a camera in it. I wouldn’t put it past Father to review the footage later.”

“Your Dad is _that_ competitive,” Irey asked.

Damian smiled, “I hate to lose. You all know that. Where do you think I got it from?”

The group giggled, and Jon asked, “Where do we start?”

“Quick facility tour,” Damian said, waving for his team to follow him, “I got us schematics of the mountain so we can use them to plan strategy, but seeing the areas will help more. Oh, since Mount Justice is our permanent headquarters, I got the League to upgrade our access. All of us have access to every area of the facility now.”

The group gasped excitedly, and Damian said, “It wasn’t easy to get Father to agree to that. He wanted to wait until after our exercise to increase our access, so the League could confine us to fewer areas. He was outvoted, but just barely.”

“What does that mean,” Garfield asked.

Damian looked up at a security camera, then looked at Garfield, “It means the League isn’t sure they can win their part of the mock attack against us.”

Jai looked up, then asked, “Why did you look up like that?”

Damian pointed up, “Security cameras.” Damian looked up again and waved, “Hello, Father.”

“Do you really think he’s watching,” Irey asked as the group walked on.

“Father never volunteers for weeknight monitoring shifts,” Damian said, “but he’s up there tonight. I’m pretty sure he’s got at least one monitor following our activity through the motion detectors and security camera feeds.”

“I thought you said you turned the cameras off,” Lian said.

“In the dining room,” Damian said, “That’s why I set us up in there.”

“But, if he’s on the Watchtower, can’t your Dad just turn them back on,” Lian asked nervously.

Damian looked up at the next camera they passed, and spoke directly to the camera, “If Father can decrypt my password, then he deserves to be able to listen in on our plans.”

“Your password is that hard to guess,” Jai asked.

Damian nudged Jon and winked when the boy turned, “Red Robin might be able to figure it out, if he had a week and a supercomputer. Father doesn’t stand a chance.”

Once they were out of camera range, Irey asked, “Why did you nudge Jon like that?”

Damian gave a large smile, “Because Tim is out on a date tonight, and Father is now arguing with himself over whether to call him or not.”

“You’re mean, Dude,” Garfield said.

Damian gave a prideful smile, “Thank you.”

The group stopped as they reached a door. They hadn’t really been paying attention to where Damian was leading them.

Damian opened the door and said, “This staircase leads up to a secret escape door. It comes out in a deep crevasse on the side of the mountain. If I had to guess, this will probably be the preferred entrance of Green Lantern.”

Damian closed the door again and said, “Let’s go to the top level of the facility and work our way down.”

The group walked back to the elevator and rode it to the top floor. They stepped out into a smaller than expected space, crammed full of machinery.

“Anyone want to take a guess on what all of this is,” Damian asked.

“The factory scene from the end of The Terminator,” Jai said, looking around.

Damian rolled his eyes, but the rest of the team giggled. The kids walked further into the maze of machines, and Damian asked, “Anyone else want to take a guess?”

Garfield spoke up, “With these pipes, it looks like industrial ventilation.”

“Very good,” Damian said, “This floor, and the one below us, house heating, air conditioning, and ventilation systems. Now, the bad news is there are numerous hiding spots on this floor. The good news is that we don’t have to worry about the League accessing Mount Justice from this level.”

“Why not,” both speedsters and Jon asked at the same time.

Damian smiled and pointed back the way they came, “The only way to access this level is from below. They can use the elevator or the staircase.” Damian pointed to a door to his right, “There is also another staircase through that door, but it only goes down to the next floor down.”

Garfield pointed to the ducting coming out of the machinery, “How about the air ducts?”

Damian shook his head, “The League thought about that when they designed the facility. They purposely used small air vents, to prevent an infiltration from the vents. The vents are only twelve inches wide. That’s barely bigger than the air vents in your homes. I don’t know if Martian Manhunter will be taking part in the invasion, but other than you, Garfield, he is the only other person in the entire Justice League who can make it through the vents.”

Lian looked up, then pointed at the ceiling, “Why can’t they just come through the ceiling?”

Damian shook his head again, “Not possible. Well, Superman could do it, but it wouldn’t be a feasible attack strategy.”

“Why not,” Lian asked, “We’re at the top of the mountain, right?”

“The top of the facility,” Damian corrected, “Not the top of the mountain. I’ll show you all the schematics when we get back to the dining room, but from here, we have roughly three hundred to three hundred fifty feet of solid rock over our heads. We’re actually very close to ground level. Remember, everything below the main level, the one with the Zeta Tubes and main computer, is below ground level.”

“How close to the outside are we,” Jai asked curiously.

“Not close,” Damian said, “While we have ten doors to defend, there are actually no doors that lead directly outside of the facility. They all lead to hallways and tunnels that eventually lead outside, but there is no one straight shot. You can’t walk out one of the doors and be outside.”

Jon looked confused, “Then…why are we looking at this floor, if they can’t get to it?”

“They can’t get to it _easily_ ,” Damian said, “but once they are in the facility, they can get to it. The elevator goes to this floor. I wouldn’t put it past the League to use this floor as a staging area. We already know it isn’t a threat for entry, so we are less likely to look for them to come from here. Anyway, none of us have ever seen this floor before. If this is going to be our base of operations, we should know all of what is here.”

Damian nodded to the door to his right, then led his team into the small staircase.

“These stairs only go to the next level down. Don’t ask me why they designed it this way. This is the only staircase in the entire mountain that only goes to one floor.”

The team entered into a room very similar to the one they just left. This room was also full of large machinery and ducting.

“More heating and ventilation,” Jai asked.

Damian nodded, “Yes. It’s laid out exactly like the floor above us. Lots of hiding places, but the League isn’t exactly going to be looking to hide.”

Damian opened the door to the main staircase, and the team followed him to the next level down.

“This, and the level below us, are both storage levels. This is the first floor where we have to worry about multiple entrances and an opening to the outside.”

Jon pointed to a large, walled off space, “Is that, like, an office, or something?”

Damian walked over to the large door and opened it, and the group shivered at the blast of frosty air, “No, this is an industrial-sized freezer. The food that the League stored in here kept us alive during the Brainiac invasion, two years ago.”

Damian closed the freezer door and said, “This floor is used as partial storage and partial loading bay. Look over here.”

The team walked over to a large roll-up door. Damian opened the door to reveal an expansive space.

“What is this,” Garfield asked, taking in the size of the area.

“Vehicle access,” Damian said, “This tunnel leads down to ground level, and out of the mountain, roughly half a mile away. Make no mistake, this is a huge tunnel. You can easily turn an eighteen-wheeler around in this loading bay. I can see this being Flash’s entrance.”

Damian closed the roll-up door and made sure it was locked before turning to look at his team, “Here’s where this gets interesting. Starting on this floor, and going all the way down to the bottom of the facility, there are multiple up and down paths.” Damian pointed to the west wall of the room, “Over there are the main personnel elevator and main staircase. However, right here is a freight elevator. It goes to all of the lower levels. Next to it is a staircase. There is another one on the other side of the floor.”

“Three staircases,” Irey asked, “Why?”

“Convenience, and redundancy,” Damian said, “Say there is a massive earthquake, and the elevator and main staircase collapse. There needs to be more than one way up and down.”

Lian shrugged, “I guess that makes sense.”

“It also makes it easier for people to move around the facility, both us and them,” Damian said, opening the door to a side staircase.

On the next floor down, Damian said, “This floor is all storage, but it’s also going to be a problem.”

“Why,” Jai asked.

Damian led the kids to the far side of the storage room, where several racks of computer servers stood. “The Justice League’s goal in this invasion scenario is to access the main computer. Not only can that be done from the main level, but it can also be done from here. The computer on the main floor is mostly an access terminal. This is the actual main computer.”

“So, we need to have someone stationed here during the attack,” Jon asked.

“We’ll talk about that later, when we’re making plans,” Damian said, “but it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. The League might target this terminal, thinking we would focus our defense on the main terminal.”

Damian opened a door next to the server rack, “Also with the door to the stairs right here, they could have easy access to the server.”

“Another secret passage,” Garfield asked.

Damian shrugged, “It’s not exactly a secret, but there is another passage.”

“Why does this keep getting harder, the more we look around the mountain,” Irey asked.

“Why did you assume this would be easy,” Damian asked in return, “This is purposely difficult, in order to test our abilities, so the League knows where to start our next level of training. The Navy Seals have a saying: the only easy day was yesterday. That will apply to our training from now on. If we’re going to be prepared, we’re going to have to work harder than ever.”

Jon was smiling, “Come on, Irey. This is going to be fun.”

Jai didn’t look convinced, “Are you sure, Jon?”

“I am,” Damian said with a smirk, “Yes, we’ll be defending against an attack from a foe that has more people, more skills, more strength, more coordination, and more experience with the battlefield, but we’ll be doing it our way. Before you ask, I’ll explain how once we aren’t in view of the cameras.”

Garfield looked around at the team, then said, “You aren’t exactly inspiring confidence in us here, D.”

“We’ll get there,” Damian said, leading the group back to the stairs, “Trust me.”

Exiting on the next level down, Damian said, “I hope you all recognize this level.”

The kids looked around, and Jai said, “This is the main level, with the Zeta Tube.”

“Right,” Damian said, “This way.”

Damian led the group away from the Zeta Tube/ Command area, pointing out sights as they went. “This floor is actually at ground level. Everything below us is under ground. These first two doors are storage lockers. These next three doors are small meeting rooms. This one, however, is something that, while I’m glad we’ve never needed it, I should have showed you all long ago.”

Damian opened the door and said, “This is the infirmary. I want all of you to go in and take a good look around; see where everything is. We’ve gone over first aid, so you should all know where we keep our medical supplies. Look around, and let me know when you want to continue.”

The kids browsed around for several minutes while Damian leaned against the wall. After a minute, Jon walked over and leaned next to Damian.

“That was quick,” the Boy Wonder said.

The Boy of Steel nodded, “I’ve seen this room before, remember?”

“Did your Father show it to you,” Damian asked.

“No, you did,” Jon said, “After the robot attack, remember? I bandaged up that cut on your back.”

Damian released a breath, “That’s right. I forgot about that.”

Jai wandered over to stand next to the older and younger boys, “Why didn’t we see this before?”

Damian sighed, “Wishful thinking, on my part. We’ve been lucky so far in training, and haven’t had any injuries. I doubt that will always be the case. We need to be prepared.”

“It’s cool that we have all of this,” Jai said.

Damian thought for a second, stroking his chin, “I’ll have to ask the League if Martian Manhunter can give us more in-depth medical training.”

“Not a bad idea,” Lian said, walking over to the boys.

“I’ll have them set it up in a few weeks,” Damian said with a nod.

Irey was the last one to rejoin the group, and said, “It’s good to know we have all of this. You never know when we’ll need it.”

“Right,” Damian said, “Are you all ready to move on?”

The kids nodded and walked out of the infirmary. Damian pointed out two recovery rooms before opening the door at the end of the hall.

“Here’s the emergency staircase door on this level. I think you all have seen this one before.”

The group all nodded. They had made use of this one in the past.

Damian closed the door and sighed. Garfield asked, “What’s up, Dude?”

“We have to go back to the Command Room,” Damian said.

“We had to go back there anyway, right,” Jai said, “That’s the League’s target, isn’t it?”

Damian shrugged, “I guess so. Come on.”

The team walked across the length of the floor, but when the kids turned towards the computer terminal, Damian continued across to the far side of the room. The kids hurried over as Damian started talking.

“This is the emergency exit on this level. It leads to a short tunnel, then the outside world. This is probably the most direct route to the outside world, and we don’t have to worry about it.”

That surprised the team, and Jai asked, “Why don’t we have to worry about it?”

“Take a closer look,” Damian said with a smile, stepping away from the door.

The kids crowded around for several minutes, until Jai asked, “Is this a fake door? Why doesn’t it open?”

Damian smiled widely, “Remember during the Brainiac invasion, when we were invaded here? This door is how the robots got in. Once the problem was taken care of, I had Jon weld up the seam with his heat vision. It looks like the League never got around to replacing the door. The ten doors we have to defend are now nine.”

“What if they, like, break it down, or come through a wall,” Jai asked nervously.

Damian shook his head, “They won’t do anything to damage the facility. This is training, not a real invasion.”

Lian looked at Damian and said, “So, we don’t have to worry about this floor at all.”

“How did you come to that conclusion,” Damian asked.

“Well, you said they aren’t allowed to use the Zeta Tube, and the door is welded shut. Why would they come here?”

Damian turned and pointed at the main computer terminal, “Their goal is to access the main computer. The easiest way to do that is right there.”

Lian blushed, “Oh. Right. I forgot about that. Never mind.”

Damian shook his head lightly, “No, it’s okay. We’ve been going over a lot of information quickly. It’s easy to forget things.” Damian looked around at his team, “Why don’t we take a short break?”

“Sounds good, Dude,” Garfield said.

Damian nodded, “Let’s go back to the dining room. We’re done with this floor anyway.”

The team took the elevator back to the living area. The kids headed for the dining room, but Damian stopped at his quarters.

Jon stopped and turned back, “Hey, aren’t you coming with us?”

“I am,” Damian said, opening the door to his room.

Jon walked back to see Damian unclip his cape and drape it over the back of his desk chair.

“It’s a little warm in here, and I’m not exactly concerned about full uniforms tonight.”

Jon smiled and unzipped his sweatshirt. “Good. You’re right, it is warm in here.”

Damian smiled as Jon pulled off his sweatshirt, revealing a Superman t-shirt. “Is that your summer uniform?”

Jon looked down at himself as he threw his sweatshirt on his bed in his room, “Yes, actually.”

“Good,” Damian said, “Let’s go.”

Jon and Damian walked into the dining room to find the kids sitting and snacking.

Damian grabbed a handful of carrots as Jai said, “Oh, there you are. What are we doing after the tour?”

“Planning how to defend this place,” Damian said, “Why?”

Jai shrugged, “I just didn’t think we’d be here this late.”

“Did you have somewhere else to be,” Damian asked. When Jai shook his head, Damian said, “All of your parents gave us permission to stay here overnight, if we need to. We just have to call them first.”

The team looked around, smiling at each other. They all liked that idea.

“Sounds good to me,” Garfield said.

“What are we going to sleep in,” Irey asked.

“Your rooms,” Damian said, “In preparing for tonight, I asked your parents to send some clothes to keep here, just in case we get stuck here.”

“Do you just think of everything, D,” Jai asked.

“I just like to be prepared,” Damian said around a carrot.

Jon smiled excitedly, “Let’s call home and let them know we’re staying.”

“You can use the communications console upstairs,” Damian said, “Actually, this is a good time to do that. You all have access to the central computer now. It’s about time you all learned how to use it.”

The team crowded around the computer console, and Jai asked, “Why don’t you give us a demonstration of how it works, D?”

Damian nodded, “It’s very simple. To unlock the system, you place your thumb on this pad here.” A light glowed around the teen’s thumb as he pressed it to a fingerprint reader. Damian then pointed to an obvious camera, mounted just above a lower screen. “Look at the camera for a long two count, until the system beeps. You have now unlocked the computer. All of your faces and thumbprints have already been entered into the system. Once it’s unlocked, the system is very intuitive. Everything is laid out and labeled. Also, touchscreens make everything better. For example, I press the icon marked ‘phone’, and a phone keypad appears. This accesses a secure phone line. Then, you dial the number, and you have a working speakerphone.”

Damian dialed a number from memory, and the call was answered on the second ring.

“Hello?”

Damian smiled at the voice. He had called Alfred’s cell phone. “Hello, Agent A.”

“Good evening, Master Robin.”

“Agent A, we have decided to spend the night at the Mountain,” Damian said.

“I see, sir,” Alfred said, “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Oh, and the plan for tomorrow, what you and I discussed earlier, that’s a go, too. For six, at eight.”

Alfred nodded on the other end of the phone, “Everything will be ready, sir.”

“Thank you, Agent A,” Damian said, “Good night.”

“Good night, young sir.”

Damian disconnected the call and turned to look at his team, “There. Nothing to it. Who’s next?”

“That depends,” Garfield said, “What happens tomorrow at eight?”

Damian smirked, “You’ll just have to wait and see. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.”

“I guess we’ll go next,” Irey said, stepping up to the computer.

Ten minutes and four successful phone calls later, Damian nodded slowly, “Wow, not one of your parents objected to all of us staying here, basically unsupervised.”

“Are we, though,” Garfield asked.

Jon nodded, “Yeah, you said there are cameras all over the place, and they all know your Dad is on monitoring duty tonight.”

“You’re right,” Damian said flatly, “There’s more supervision on us tonight than there would be if you all were sitting at home with your parents staring at you.”

The team laughed, and Damian asked, “Do you want to power through the tour?”

The group agreed, and followed Damian back to the elevator and back to the living area, one floor below the command level.

“The next two floors should go pretty quick. We spend almost all of our time on the living floor and the training level. Just to point out again, we are underground right now.”

The group came to a junction in the hallway, and Damian pointed to the right, “Down there, of course, is the kitchen, dining room, and rec room. Past the rec room is the freight elevator and a staircase. If we turn left,” Damian turned left and walked down the hall, “We come to this room.”

Damian opened the door to a large conference room and walked in, “This was the Justice League’s main conference room, when this was their base of operations.” Damian then sighed as he looked at the rear wall of the room and the large screen found there, “And, I just remembered. There is another way the League can access the main computer. They had a link set up in here, too.”

“Why don’t we ever have our meetings in here,” Jai asked, wandering around the room.

“We will,” Damian said, “It’s just that almost everything we’ve done here has involved some form of training. It was just easier to use the training room.”

“We’d be, like, _official_ , if we used this room for our meetings,” Irey said with a smile.

Damian smirked, “We _are_ official. Don’t worry, we’ll make good use of this whole facility.”

“Any secret tunnels in here we need to know about,” Jon asked.

Damian shook his head, “No. There are surprisingly few ‘hidden secrets’ in the Mountain. Let’s move on.”

The group left the conference room, and Damian opened the door at the end of the hall, “Remember the staircase on the top floor that only goes to the next floor down? This one is close to the same thing. This staircase only accesses the four underground levels.”

Lian looked at four evenly spaced doors on the opposite wall from the conference room, and asked, “What are those?”

Damian opened one and said, “Additional sleeping quarters. There are four more on the other side of the hall, as well.”

“So, we have sixteen bedrooms to work with,” Irey asked, “Are we going to expand the team?”

“I don’t know who we would add,” Damian said, “No one else in the Justice League has children. We have the capacity, if that becomes necessary in the future, though.”

Damian walked back to the elevator, with the team following. Instead of calling for the elevator, Damian opened the door for the main staircase and headed down a level.

“Why didn’t we just take the stairs next to the conference room,” Lian asked.

Damian didn’t answer for a second, but Jon piped up with a smile, “Because that’s just what you’d expect him to do.”

Jai smiled, “We can’t think predictably if we’re going to beat the League.”

The team laughed, and Damian said while chuckling, “I wasn’t thinking. Anyway, this is the floor where we spend most of our time. Training room right here, of course. Across the hall is the gym. I don’t think we’ve used that much.”

Damian opened the door to reveal a modern work-out space and let the kids look around at the weights and machines.

After several minutes, Damian wandered over to Jai, who was staring at a treadmill. “Looking to go for a run,” Damian asked.

“No treadmill can keep up with me,” Jai said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Damian pointed to the boy’s right, “Why don’t you try that one?”

Jai looked it over, then asked, “What’s different about this one, other than the longer foot path?”

Damian waved Jai over to look at the control panel. “This one is meant for running fast. Does that button look familiar?”

A slow smile spread across Jai’s face as he saw a button with an image of the same lightning bolt found on his jumpsuit. “If I press that, what does it do?”

Damian patted Jai’s shoulder, “This treadmill was designed by, and specifically for, Flash. I think it will give you a good run.”

“Awesome,” Jai whispered.

Jon tapped Damian on the shoulder, surprising the teen. Jon cringed when Damian jumped at the contact. “Sorry. That wasn’t your bad shoulder, was it?”

Damian turned to look at Jon, “It was, but that didn’t hurt. You just surprised me. What’s up?”

Jon looked around, “This room is nice, but what am I supposed to do with it? In a couple years, I’ll be able to lift everything in here at the same time with no problem.”

“When you use your powers, yes,” Damian said, “What about without powers? You’ll be big and muscular like your Father eventually, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help yourself out in the meantime. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining your body.”

Damian leaned closer and whispered in Jon’s ear. He knew Jai could hear him as well when he said softly, “You’re getting older, Jon. I don’t know how interested you are yet, but girls love muscles. Take it from someone who works out a lot, and has a girlfriend with friends who were instantly jealous of her the first time I met them, because of how I maintain my body. You don’t have to look like a body builder, but a little tone and definition goes a long way, and it shows that you take care of yourself.”

Jon’s eyes widened for a second, and he whispered back, “I’m interested.”

Damian could tell that Jai was just as interested, “Then talk to your Father.”

Damian turned to address the whole team, “Ready to move on?”

The team all said they were ready to move on, and they headed for the door. Damian took a look at Jai’s and Jon’s faces as they walked into the hall. He could see the wheels turning behind both of their eyes at their last interaction. As expected, Jai was sneaking glances at Lian behind her back. What wasn’t expected by Damian was the same type of glances Jon was sneaking at Irey.

_Is Jon thinking about Irey? Is our little boy growing up? You know, now that I think about it, they could work out. They’re both a lot alike. Both are very even-tempered. Should I encourage this, tell him to take it slow, or just ignore what I saw? Maybe I didn’t see anything? Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions…no, I saw something. He just looked again. I wonder how long this has been going through his mind? I wonder if anyone but Jon knows about this? There’s another glance. I’ll have to talk to him later._

Damian led the group to the end of the hall. “I’m sure this is getting a little repetitive, but here is the freight elevator and emergency staircase.”

Damian pushed the call button for the freight elevator, and they waited two full minutes for the car to arrive.

“How far away was that,” Garfield asked.

Damian shook his head, “No idea, but I wanted you to see this. The freight elevator is slow. Don’t rely on it to get you out of emergency situations.”

“So, we should stick to the stairs,” Lian asked.

Damian nodded, “As much as possible, at least for our upcoming mock-invasion. In fact, we should avoid both elevators during the test.”

The group nodded at the advice.

“Good thinking,” Irey said.

Damian pointed out to the floor they entered and said, “This is the water and sewage controls for the mountain. I don’t know why they chose to put it on this level, instead of the bottom level, but here it is.”

Garfield tilted his head, “Well, we’re underground, right?”

“Yes, we are,” Damian said.

Jai thought for a second, then said, “Well, maybe this level is at the same depth as the local sewer system? You don’t want to have to pump our crap out of here uphill.”

Damian stared at Jai long enough for the younger teen to grow uncomfortable and ask, “What?”

Damian blinked a couple times, then shook his head, “That makes perfect sense, and it’s something I didn’t think about. Thank you, Jai. I think you’re right.”

Jai grew a bright smile, “I am?”

“I don’t know,” Damian said, “but it’s a better explanation than I could come up with. Um, freight elevator here, and the staircase.” Damian pointed off to the left, “Main elevator and main stairs over on that wall. Straight ahead is another exit door. That one leads to a staircase that leads to the loading dock on the first storage level.”

“That’s a long staircase,” Jon said.

“Yes, it is,” Damian agreed as he opened the door for the staircase.

On the bottom level, Damian turned to look at his team, “This is it, the bottom level of Mount Justice. This houses the electrical controls. The mountain is powered completely by geothermal generators. We actually use the same type of set-up at home to power the Cave.”

“What does that mean, geothermal generators,” Lian asked.

“It means we harness the power of the Earth itself to power the facility. It means we have all the power we could ever need, and we are completely off the grid.”

Irey gave a knowing smile, “You don’t know, do you.”

Damian sighed, and tried not to get upset at the stifled giggles, “Not the fine details. I know what I need to know. I know that I can flip any switch in Mount Justice and the lights will come on, no matter what is happening outside of the mountain.”

“Shouldn’t you know how it works, if you’re in charge of this place, and you use the same system at home,” Jon asked.

“Yes, probably,” Damian grumbled.

Jai smiled, “I never thought I’d see the day when you admitted to not knowing something.”

Damian rolled his eyes, “Then you need to pay better attention, because I freely admit that I don’t know everything. I know a lot, but not everything.”

Irey nudged Jai in the back, distracting the speedster from his next comment at Damian’s expense.

Damian waited another second before continuing with their tour, “Elevator and stairs here. Freight elevator and secondary staircase over on the right. Emergency staircase to the left.”

Garfield shook his head, “Is it just me, or are the elevators and stairs in different spots on all the levels?”

“That’s not possible,” Irey said, before turning to Damian and asking, “Is it?”

Damian grew a proud smile, and aimed it directly at Garfield, “I was wondering if anyone would notice. God job, Garfield. Really, I’m proud of you for noticing that, and for pointing it out. Yes, they are in different spots. That was done to confuse potential intruders.”

“Elevators just go up and down,” Jon said in confusion, “How do they move to different spots on the floors?”

“The elevators don’t change. The floors do.”

“I don’t get it,” Jai said, looking confused.

“You will, once I show you the facility schematics,” Damian said, “You are thinking of this facility like a building, and that is your first mistake. You are thinking that, if you cut a hole straight up from here, you would pass through the same spot in all of the floors in order. You wouldn’t. The levels are built at different angles to each other. Not one floor is directly above or below another.”

“Why,” Lian asked, just as confused as everyone else.

“Two reasons,” Damian said, “First, it was done to confuse potential invaders. Two, if there is some sort of disaster, and the floors start collapsing, there is a chance that the non-overhang areas won’t collapse. It gives the facility some extra stability.”

The team thought for a minute before Garfield said, “Okay. That’s cool.”

“Anyone else still confused,” Damian asked, looking around. No one commented, so Damian continued the tour by leading the team over to a vault door built into the rock face. “You all remember this, I hope.”

“The safe room,” Lian said.

Damian nodded, “Right. As always, if anything goes wrong, if our training simulation turns real, if there is some sort of emergency or disaster, this is the Alamo.”

“What,” Jon asked.

“The Alamo. The last stand. Anyone can call it, if you see something too wrong for us to handle. Say ‘Alamo’ three times over the radio. That’s the signal to drop everything and come here to hole up. That isn’t something that’s just in place for this training. That is all-time.”

The group nodded at the plan, and Garfield asked, “Is there anything else we need to see? This is the bottom level, right?”

“Just one thing,” Damian said, pointing at a door near the safe room, “The last of our secret entrances. This leads to a long tunnel, exiting the mountain almost a mile away.”

“This is a lot of stuff to remember,” Jai said nervously.

“It is,” Damian agreed, “but we’ve got plenty of time to get everything down. Four years, remember?”

“Okay,” Jai said.

Damian nodded, “Let’s go back to the dining room and start our plan. Now that you have all seen the place, you can get a better idea on how to defend it.”

The team regrouped in the dining room, after a several minute rest and bathroom break, and sat around the table.

“So, what’s our plan,” Garfield asked.

Damian smiled, “You tell me.”

“Come on, Damian. That’s not funny,” Irey said, “Tell us what the plan is.”

Damian shook his head, “I can’t. Not yet. We’re here tonight to develop the plan.”

“Surely you have ideas,” Jai said.

“Of course, I have ideas,” Damian said, “but my ideas are last resorts. You see, the League is going to expect me to come up with an intricate battle strategy, and vigorously impose it on the group. That’s why all of my plans should only be back-ups. We need to work off of all of your ideas. The League will be expecting my type of strategies. They won’t be expecting what all of you would come up with.”

“I get it,” Jon said with a smile, “We trick them.”

“Exactly,” Damian said, picking up a pen, “Let’s hear it. How do we defend Mount Justice?”

“We don’t know how or when they’re coming, do we,” Jai asked.

Damian shook his head, “No. Hence, surprise attack.”

“We need ways to move around where they won’t see us coming,” Lian said.

“Right,” Damian agreed, “First thing we should do, or shouldn’t do, is the elevators. We can’t use them. It would make capturing us too easy.”

Garfield tapped his chin in thought, “Maybe we can use them.”

“How,” Damian asked.

Garfield smiled, “Can we program them to go to random floors and open the doors on their own? Maybe we can get the League to think we’re in the elevators, then ambush them when they’re waiting to ambush us.”

Damian started writing notes on his notepad with a smile, “That is the kind of suggestion I was hoping to get tonight. That’s the kind of thing the League won’t expect.”

“Brilliant, Gar,” Jai said, patting the green teen on the back.

Damian glanced up and said, “Why aren’t you all taking notes? I want all of you to study what we come up with before the big day.”

“Hey,” Irey asked, “When is this drill going to take place?”

“Saturday night,” Damian said.

The room froze with a gasp, and Jai said, “S-Saturday? As in, four days from now?”

“We’ll never be ready in time,” Lian said nervously.

Damian held up his hands, “Calm down, everyone. We’ll be far more ready than the League is expecting. We don’t have to win; we just have to show them what we’re capable of.”

Jon’s jaw dropped, “Are you feeling alright, D? I could have sworn you just said that we don’t have to win.”

“When have you ever not played to win, Damian,” Jai asked.

Damian smiled, “Like I said before, that’s what they’re expecting. The Justice League thinks I’m in here right now, drilling all of you on combat situations and The Art of War. We’ll be prepared, but not for what they think. Remember what I said before the tour? We’re going to do this our way, not my way. Now, what else do you have?”

The team thought for a second before Irey spoke up, “Well, their goal is the main computer, right?”

“Right,” Damian said.

“And, there are only three places to access it, right,” Irey continued.

Damian thought for a second, “Technically, there are six, but I’m sure we only have to worry about the three I showed you.”

“Where are the other three,” Lian asked, “And why didn’t you mention them before?”

Damian sighed, “Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, the three founders of the Justice League, programmed main computer access into the terminals in their quarters.”

“Whose rooms are those,” Garfield asked.

Damian pointed to the new occupants, “Mine, Jon’s, and Irey’s. That wasn’t done intentionally, I think. Tim did the room assignments before the Brainiac invasion. The only one that I know was intentional was putting me in Batman’s old quarters. Just in case, so we don’t have to go over it later, Jai, you are in Flash’s old room. Lian, you are in Green Arrow’s old room. Garfield, you are in Green Lantern’s old room.”

“Because I’m green, right,” Garfield asked with a smile.

“How did you guess,” Irey joked.

The team laughed, and Damian continued, “I don’t think we have to worry about those terminals because the team didn’t have access to the computer until today. I don’t think the League will be turning the access back on for those terminals just to screw with us. Father told me that he was leaving the adjustment of our access to me. I haven’t reactivated those terminals. They might have forgotten that those terminals are available for computer access. I’m not worried about them.”

Lian nodded, “So, we are left with three access points.”

“The easiest thing to do would be to divide us up and put us at the computer terminals,” Jon said.

Damian shook his head, “That’s a bad strategy. Or, more accurately, it’s a last-ditch strategy. We don’t want our main line of defense to be right in front of their target. Just because we know their primary target doesn’t mean we need to wait until they get to their target to engage them.”

Jai’s eyes widened, “You want to attack?”

“We stand a better chance taking them on one-on-one in the halls than we do around the computer terminals,” Damian said.

“Why,” Garfield asked.

Damian took a breath, “Three terminals. Six of us. That’s two per terminal. How do we divide our group? How do we make the strongest possible teams to defend the targets? How do we know which member of the Justice League will go to which computer? How do we know they won’t just attack one terminal with their entire force? How many of you want to face off against Superman, or Wonder Woman, or Batman?”

The group fell into a thoughtful silence before Jon asked nervously, “Are…are they going to hurt us?”

Damian shook his head, hoping he wasn’t about to lie to his team, “No, they aren’t going to hurt us. They aren’t going to go easy on us, either. This is a test, and tests are supposed to be hard.”

Irey eyed Damian seriously, “Damian, why do I get the idea that you know more about what’s going to happen than you’re telling us?”

“I actually don’t, this time,” Damian said, “There is no hidden agenda here, that I’ve been told about. This is as much a test for me as it is for all of you.”

“What does that mean,” Jai asked.

Damian sighed, “I think there is a second test here, one we haven’t been told about.”

“What do you think it is,” Jon asked nervously.

Damian looked around the table, then said seriously, “I think they are testing how far we will go in confronting a threat.” Damian looked down, “Several years ago, I was put undercover in a school for orphans in Gotham. The school was a front for a criminal organization, and we needed to find out who was running it. To be able to find that out, I had to play along with the school, to work my way deeper into the organization.”

“What does that mean,” Garfield asked.

“It was a school run by criminals, training students to be the next generation of criminals. You do that by committing crimes. We were sent out to rob local stores, to test our training while stealing money for the school.” Damian met several of the shocked looks and said, “Yes, to keep my cover intact and collect information, I robbed several stores around Gotham City. I’m a little embarrassed to report that I was pretty good at it.”

Damian took a deep breath before continuing, “On one job, Batman and Nightwing chased me and my partner. We were being watched on our jobs by people from the school, and I didn’t have enough information to take them down yet. I couldn’t break cover to let Batman know it was me.”

“Didn’t he recognize you,” Irey asked in confusion.

Damian shook his head, “Part of the uniform we were given to wear while doing these jobs was a full face helmet. I had to find a way to communicate with Batman. The way I chose was…the wrong one. I engaged with Batman and Nightwing, to try to keep my cover intact.”

“What do you mean by engage,” Lian asked.

Damian sighed again, “I had to fight them like my life depended on it, because it did. I couldn’t break cover. If I did, the people from the school who were watching would have known I was Robin, and if I was able to get away from Batman and Nightwing, the school would have killed me. I tried to tip off Batman and Nightwing that it was me, but they didn’t catch on to my signals. I did everything I could to make them think they were fighting Robin, but it didn’t help.”

“What happened,” Jon asked breathlessly.

Damian took a breath, “I lost. I lost big. I’m good, but I can’t take both Batman and Nightwing at the same time now. I definitely couldn’t do it when I was twelve. I ended up with a broken nose, a broken wrist, a concussion, and I got arrested. And, I ended up blowing my cover, anyway. Batman saw my face at the police station.”

“Why didn’t the police recognize you as Damian Wayne,” Irey asked.

Damian shook his head, “I would be surprised if the police could recognize me as Damian Wayne now. I wasn’t known around town then. I had only been in Gotham for a couple years, and I don’t exactly go out a lot. It took a lot of Batman’s favors with the police for me to be released back to the school. He couldn’t exactly take me home from police custody without revealing all of our identities. When my partner and I were returned to the school without being charged, they pegged us as informants. I was…almost dead, when Batman showed up and took down the school.”

The team murmured among themselves at the story they hadn’t heard before.

Damian took a sip of water and said, “I think our test is similar to that. Can we stand up to our parents? Will we face off against the Justice League? None of us would ever consider attacking our parents, but that is exactly what we will have to do in this invasion scenario. I think they want to see if we have it in us to stand up to them. Let’s face it; if this was a real invasion by the Justice League, attacking us full-force, we’d lose. No amount of preparation could prevent that. If we show a little ingenuity and fortitude, and stand up to them, I think we can win the simulation, even if they accomplish their goal.”

Jon and Irey both looked down and sighed.

Irey said, “I never considered that.”

“I don’t want to fight Dad,” Jon said in a small voice.

“They don’t want to fight us, either,” Damian said, reaching over and patting Jon on the arm, “That’s why I want us to come up with plans that avoid direct conflict as much as possible. However, showing them that we’re willing to stand up to them, to take a swing at them, if we have to, will show them what we can really do. Anyway, you can’t tell a criminal on patrol to stop because you don’t want to hurt them. You can’t show the criminals weakness, or else they lose respect for you. They don’t respect you, or fear you, then your job gets that much harder.”

The team fell silent as Damian got up and refilled his cup of water. When he returned to the table, Jai said, “Well, if they want to access the computer, then why don’t we just turn it off?”

“Because we like breathing,” Damian said, “and the computer controls the ventilation systems.”

“Then, leave the computer on, but disable the monitors,” Jai said.

Damian thought for a second before picking up his pen again and scribbling a note down on his pad, “That’s a good one. They’ll think they won in getting to a terminal, only to waste their time when they have to troubleshoot an unplugged monitor. What else do you have?”

“Why don’t we just lock the outside doors,” Jon asked.

“Well, the doors are already locked,” Damian said, “I can pick any of these locks in twenty seconds. Batman can do it a little faster. Your Father could rip any of the locks off the doors in a second.”

“You said they wouldn’t damage the facility,” Irey pointed out.

Damian nodded, “Yes, but a door lock will be easier to replace than a wall. It might be a last-ditch option for them.”

“Turn the lights off,” Garfield suggested.

Damian shook his head, “Batman has night vision built into his cowl, Superman can see into the infrared spectrums, and Green Lantern can glow. Plus, they know the layout of Mount Justice better than we do. We can’t use ideas that hamper us just as much as them.”

“Lock the doors,” Irey said.

“I already said that one,” Jon said.

Irey smiled, “Lock the doors to the staircases.”

Damian shook his head again, “Again, we can’t do anything that will restrict our movements. We have to be more mobile than them.”

Irey leaned forward, “No, get this. We only lock certain doors. Turn the staircases into a maze.”

Damian thought for a second, before saying slowly, “That’s not bad. We set up a path that we will know, and funnel the League away from the computers. It will slow them down with having to backtrack and memorize a new layout. I like it.”

The team was scribbling down notes on their pads as the ideas came. Damian looked around and smiled as he saw his team working hard and taking the situation seriously.

“This is good,” Damian said, “I like this. More ideas. Come on, let’s hear them.”

Jai leaned forward with a smile, “Well, if we can’t block off the doors, can we alarm them to signal us when they are opened? That way, we’ll know when the League comes in, and where they’re coming from.”

“Yeah,” Jon said excitedly, “That’s a good one.”

Damian sighed, “Unfortunately, no.”

“Why not,” Jai asked, “Would that be cheating?”

Damian didn’t like the sharp tone in Jai’s voice, “I’m not shooting it down because it’s a bad idea. It’s not. It’s a great idea, and I wish we could do it, but we don’t have the time or resources to implement it. I can’t exactly go home and ask Father to buy me a security system. He’ll know what I’m planning to do with it. Also, we only have a couple days to get everything set up. At this point, we need to work with what we have here, and what we can sneak out of our homes. I really do like the idea, Jai, and I’m going to insist the League install a state of the art security system here on all the doors after the test. We just don’t have the time to get it done before Saturday.”

“Oh,” Jai said, feeling better now that Damian explained his reasoning for denying his idea.

“I want more ideas,” Damian said.

Jai threw out another idea, “Well, if we’re using the staircases to confuse the League, why don’t we take it one step further?”

“What are you thinking,” Damian asked.

“The signs in the stairwells, telling you what floor you’re on,” Jai said, “Let’s take them down.”

Damian thought for a second, “I don’t know if we can take them down, but if we can, I like that idea.”

“Why wouldn’t we be able to take them down,” Lian asked.

“We’ll have to take a closer look at the signs,” Damian said, “If they are plaques that are screwed or glued to the wall, then they’ll come down. If it’s just painted on the wall, there isn’t much we can do about that.”

Jon and Irey smirked at the same time, and Irey asked, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Jon nodded, “Don’t take them down. Change them.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Irey said.

Jai and Damian stared at the pair and both asked, “What do you mean.”

“Change the order of the signs,” Jon said.

Irey nodded, “Take the sign from, say, the Training Level, and put it up on, like, the Water and Sewage Level. Change them all around.”

Damian thought for a second, “The League knows the layout of the Mountain.”

Lian started growing a smirk, “But, if we are locking the doors of some of the staircases, making them go to different places than they think they’re going, a different sign might make them think they’re in the wrong place. Or, think they’re in the right place when they’re in the wrong place.”

Damian tapped his chin, “Confusing wording in your explanation, but adequately explained. That will only work if the signs are screwed into the wall. I don’t think we have any industrial glue here. Let’s do it, if we can get the signs off the walls.”

Garfield gasped and leaned forward with wide eyes, “Dudes! Traps!”

“Yeah,” Jon and Jai exclaimed, “Stuff to slow them down.”

“Like what,” Damian asked, holding his pen poised over a fresh page in his notepad.

“Tripwires in the hallways,” Irey said.

“Do we still have that rope net you used on us in evasion training,” Jai asked.

“How about we hook the tripwires up to things,” Jon said.

Damian smirked, “Like what? Father keeps too accurate a count on the explosives in the Cave for me to sneak some out.”

“You have smoke bombs, don’t you,” Garfield asked.

“And flash bangs,” Lian said.

Damian wrote down the suggestions while nodding.

“How about noisemakers,” Jai said, “It won’t stop them the way smoke bombs and flash bangs will, but it will put them on their guard and slow them down by making them _think_ something is going to happen.”

Damian eyed Jai, “Reverse psychology? When did you get so devious?”

“Just trying to think like you,” Jai said with a smirk.

“This is all great,” Damian said, “Keep going.”

Lian smiled, “You’re going to hide all of these traps, right?”

“Traps are more effective when you trip them unexpectedly,” Damian said.

“How about, along with the traps that we hide, that they aren’t supposed to see, we do some traps that are obvious, that they are supposed to see, that don’t actually do anything?”

Damian met the girl’s eyes, a slow smile growing on his face, “Traps that don’t do anything but slow the League down and bottle them up in places where we can apprehend them. Excellent.”

“We’re not supposed to be thinking like you, right,” Jon asked.

Damian nodded, “It will make it harder for the League to predict patterns and guess our plans.”

“Then let’s get really childish with this,” Jon said.

“I’m listening,” Damian said.

Jon thought for a second, then said, “While you’re setting up the smoke bombs and flash bangs to the tripwires, why don’t we wire some up with, like, silly string, or water balloons?”

Jai and Irey laughed at the suggestion, but Damian looked up with a bit of a smirk, “Reminds me of a trick I played on my brothers a couple years ago on April Fools’ Day.”

“Are you really taking that as a serious suggestion,” Lian asked.

Damian started writing, “No, I’m taking it as a ridiculous suggestion, which is exactly the sort of thing I asked you all to come up with. It’s something the League will never expect, and that’s why it will work.”

“If that’s the way we’re going,” Jai said, “Then how about the Invisible Door?”

“What’s that,” Damian asked.

Jai leaned forward, “We set up plastic wrap across the doorway. If you stretch it tight enough, it’s practically invisible. Walk into that with any speed and it will knock a person down. If you do the whole door, it could wrap someone up.”

“Are you talking about leg level,” Damian asked, “If you are, how would that be different than a tripwire?”

Jai smiled, “No, you put it at face level. It’s funnier that way. You’ve seriously never seen this trick?”

Damian shook his head, “No, I haven’t.”

“You need to watch more Youtube videos,” Garfield said.

Damian wrote down the suggestion, along with a personal note to look up the idea online when he got home.

“What else,” Damian said.

Jai shook his head, “Too bad none of us shave. We could have filled some of those water balloons with shaving cream.”

“I shave,” Damian said.

“So do I,” Garfield said.

“I shave my legs,” Irey said.

“Me too,” Lian said.

Jai looked at Jon while blushing, “I guess we’re the late bloomers.”

“I just turned twelve a few months ago,” Jon said, “What’s your excuse? You’re almost fourteen.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a late bloomer, Jai,” Damian said. “I think I still have a can of shaving cream, unless Father took it.”

“How do you shave, if he took your shaving cream,” Garfield asked.

“Electric razor,” Damian said, “It was…a better idea. I’m too impatient to use a regular razor.”

Damian wrote down a note to check for shaving cream when he got home, then looked up and said, “Now that we’ve discussed our grooming habits, what other suggestions do you have?”

The group fell silent and looked around at each other. No one spoke for a minute, and Damian wondered if they were out of ideas.

Jai yawned, then sighed, “Guys, I think we need more inspiration, and some help from a professional.”

Damian shrugged, “We can always use more help. Who did you have in mind?”

Jai jumped up and hurried out of the dining room. The team followed him in confusion, and stopped in the Rec Room. Jai was on his hands and knees, digging through the cabinet under the TV.

“A-ha,” Jai exclaimed as he stood up, holding up the DVD of Home Alone, and grinning broadly.

Damian, the last one to enter the Rec Room, stood behind the couch and said, “Seriously?”

The smile started to slip from Jai’s face as he sputtered, “D…I was just…it’s just…”

The team looked at Damian with a hint of fear on their faces. Damian rested his hands on the back of the couch and said, “You want to watch a Christmas movie? It’s July.”

The Rec Room was tensely silent for a minute before Jai cocked his head, meeting Damian’s eyes, “Wait. You’re not upset that I said we should watch a movie? Just that it’s a Christmas movie?”

Damian held his stern look for another handful of seconds before letting a smile break through on his face, “You’ve all done good work tonight, and it’s getting late. We can call it a night and get some rest.”

The team cheered as Jai set up the movie. Damian headed for the door, and Jon asked, “Where are you going, D?”

Damian stopped at the door and turned back with a smirk, “To get the popcorn. There are drinks in the fridge if anyone wants anything.”

_Midnight…_

Only Damian and Irey stayed awake through the end of the movie. Damian was surprised that any of them had stayed awake at all. Jon was the first one to fall asleep, leaning against Damian’s shoulder. Garfield was a close second, taking Damian’s other shoulder. Damian idly wondered what his Father thought of the tableau presented before the security camera.

“Have you ever seen this movie before, Damian,” Irey asked softly.

Damian nodded gently, “A couple times. Your brother was right, there were a few usable ideas in there.”

Irey yawned, “We should go to bed.”

“Yeah,” Damian said, “If you want to get your brother and Lian to bed, I’ll get Jon and Gar off to bed.”

“Sounds good to me,” Irey said, yawning again.

The couple woke their slumbering teammates and helped them stagger to bed before retiring to their own rooms and falling into bed. Damian was more tired than he thought he’d be, to the point where he ignored the pajamas he had brought, and just stripped down to the tight tank top and black boxer briefs he wore under his uniform before falling into bed. He was asleep before he could even pull the blanket over himself.

An hour after falling into a blissful, dream-free slumber, Damian was awoken by an ear-splitting electronic whine. Instantly awake, Damian jumped out of bed, looking around to find where the noise came from.

Damian ran into the hallway, and was joined a second later by Jon and Jai, who both looked just as concerned as Damian. If the situation was a little different, Damian might have pointed out that both younger boys had run out of their rooms in their underwear. If he had been a little more awake, he might have noticed that their black boxer briefs matched the ones that he was wearing.

“Where did that noise come from,” Jai asked.

“You both heard it, too,” Jon asked.

“Looks like it,” Damian said, “Let’s go find out.”

The three boys ran up the stairs and into the control room. They stopped suddenly after entering the room, when they found Batman standing at the computer console.

“Father,” Damian asked questioningly.

Batman turned and smirked as he was confronted by three underaged, and nearly undressed, heroes-in-training. “Not a bad response time,” Batman said, “However, given your ability for super speed, I would have expected you two to be dressed before confronting an unknown threat.”

“We’re not on duty, Father,” Damian said, rubbing his eyes.

“Who is,” Batman asked, “It’s not like you to not post a sentry.”

“Who says he didn’t?”

The boys smiled as Batman turned to find Speedy, fully uniformed and armed, pointing an arrow at Batman’s back. The archer had been able to get just ten feet behind Batman without being noticed.

“I didn’t post a sentry,” Damian said, “She volunteered.”

Batman looked the girl up and down before saying, “Can I assume you’re ready to use that?”

“On our enemies,” Speedy replied.

“And, if I’d been an enemy?”

“You wouldn’t have gotten within twenty feet of that computer,” Speedy said.

Batman nodded, “Good. I think that’s enough for tonight.”

Damian released a breath, “Stand down, Speedy. I don’t think we’ll be needing a guard anymore tonight. You can go to bed. Thanks.”

Speedy quivered her arrow and visibly relaxed. She walked closer to the group, looking the three boys up and down with a small grin. Damian caught the look, and noticed that it lingered on Jai for several seconds before Lian said, “Nice undies, boys.”

Jon and Jai looked down and realized, possibly for the first time since they were awakened, that they were running around Mount Justice in their underwear. Both boys blushed incredibly bright shades of red as they tried to cover themselves with their hands.

Damian shook his head as he smiled and said, “Go back to bed, you three.”

The youths left, and Damian walked closer to Batman. “Your monitoring shift ended, and you figured you’d test us?”

Batman nodded, “You did well, Kiddo.”

“How did you make that noise,” Damian asked.

“I sent a feedback loop through the comm system,” Batman said.

Damian looked confused, “Just to the three of us?”

Batman shook his head, “No, it went to all of the bedrooms. What happened to the rest of your team?”

“I don’t know,” Damian said, “Lian was already up here. Gar can sleep through a plane crash; I didn’t expect to see him. Don’t know what happened to Irey. I’ll have to ask her in the morning.”

“Speaking of the morning,” Batman said, “You didn’t call to tell me you were staying here.”

Damian shrugged, “I called Alfred. He knows where I am. Anyway, you’ve been on monitoring duty all night. You knew where I was. How much of your time was spent watching the world, and how much was spent watching us?”

Batman gave a small smirk, “It’s about even. You gave them a very comprehensive tour of the facility. How did you disconnect the cameras in the dining room? You don’t have the access to stop us from reactivating them.”

Damian smiled widely, “Oh, but I do, and you gave it to me. My B-level clearance doesn’t override your A-level access, but the League named me the head of this team, and listed this facility as our official base of operations in the League mainframe. That gives me Administrator privileges over Mount Justice. I could have the same F-level access as the rest of my team, and I would still have final control over everything that happens in this facility.”

Batman sighed, “I warned Superman that you’d figure that out. Now, we’re going to have to change our approach.”

Damian stepped closer to his father, “You would have said that no matter what I said about our night.”

“What about your morning,” Batman asked.

Damian leaned against his armored Father as the strong arms wrapped around his shoulders, “We’re going home for breakfast. Alfred is going to treat us. He and I discussed it earlier this afternoon, so it isn’t a surprise for him. After that, we’ll come back here and finish up any last details. I should be home before noon.”

Batman nodded and squeezed his son in a hug, “Sounds like a plan. I’ll miss your team at breakfast. I have to be at the office for a meeting by eight.”

“Then, you should go home and get some sleep, Father,” Damian said softly.

“I’ll do that,” Batman said, “You should get some sleep, too.”

Damian smiled, “I’ll do that. Good night, Father.”

“Good night, Kiddo.”

_The Next Morning…_

Just after seven, Damian went around to his team’s bedrooms and woke everyone up, telling them, “Wake up and get dressed. Civilian clothes. We have an appointment.”

Damian was right to start waking his team so early, because he had to wake Jai and Lian again at seven-thirty.

The team met in the control room, and Jon asked, “Why are we up so early?”

“What’s this appointment you’re talking about,” Garfield asked.

Damian smiled as he led his team over to the Zeta Tube, “Something none of you are going to want to miss. No one is in uniform, right?”

The team shook their heads as Damian entered a set of coordinates into the control panel. “Okay, everyone. I hate that I have to give this warning, but you all must be on your best behavior where we’re going.”

The team looked confused, but followed Damian through the Zeta Tube.

“Hey, this is your Cave,” Garfield said.

“Yes, it is,” Damian said.

“Why aren’t we wearing our uniforms,” Irey asked.

Damian smirked, “They aren’t allowed upstairs.”

“We’re going to the house,” Garfield asked in a gasp. He was the only one on the team who hadn’t been inside Wayne Manor.

“Why,” Jai asked, “Aren’t we still on team time?”

Damian spoke over his shoulder as he turned to head for the stairs, “You’re welcome to go back to the Mountain, if you don’t want breakfast.”

Jon, Jai, and Irey all gasped and smiled.

“Alfred’s cooking,” Irey asked.

“Who is Alfred,” Garfield asked.

“Let’s go meet him,” Damian said, waving for the kids to follow him.

On the house side of the grandfather clock, Garfield froze in shock at the plainest hallway to be found in Stately Wayne Manor.

Damian leaned over to Jon and murmured, “Watch him, please. Make sure he doesn’t bump into anything or knock something over.”

Jon nodded, “Got it.”

Garfield was having trouble taking everything in, and asked, “Is that a real suit of armor?”

“Yes,” Damian said, “We have a few more around here somewhere. They used to go to the chess set.”

Garfield wasn’t aware that Damian was joking with him. He had never heard Damian joke around before.

Garfield just stared at the older teen, “The chess set? A full size suit of armor?”

Damian shrugged, while Jai was trying not to laugh, “It was a life-sized chess set. It was a pain in the ass to get the horses to stay in their squares, too.”

Garfield’s eyes were popping out of his head, while Irey barely stifled a snort of laughter. The green teen gestured to the doors across the hall from the grandfather clock and asked, “Which one is your room?”

Damian shook his head, “My room is upstairs. Come on, don’t want to be late for breakfast.”

The team entered the entrance foyer, and Garfield’s jaw dropped again. “Wow,” he gasped.

Jon grabbed Garfield’s arm and gently dragged him to the dining room. “He really means it when he says we can’t be late. Alfred doesn’t excuse tardiness.”

Upon entering the dining room, the rest of the team joined Garfield in stating their wonderment. A buffet table had been set up against one wall, holding enough food to feed an entire society gathering. Jai and Jon were drooling at the prospect, and even Irey and Lian were ready to jump at the table. Damian could tell their thoughts from the looks on their faces.

The kids took two steps towards the feast before Damian called out, “Whoa! Hold up.”

The team all turned to look at Damian, and Jai asked, “What?”

Damian pointed to his right. The team looked and found Alfred standing in the door leading in from the kitchen.

The members of the group who had met Alfred all stopped and stood up straight to address their benefactor. “Good morning, Mr. Alfred,” they all intoned together.

Alfred gave a small smile and a small bow of his head, “Good morning, children.”

Damian grabbed Garfield’s arm and dragged him in front of the butler. “Alfred, may I introduce Garfield Logan. Garfield, I’d like you to meet Alfred Pennyworth, our butler, and best friend.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Garfield,” Alfred said with a smile.

Garfield eyed the butler, a vague memory starting to click in his mind. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” Garfield said.

Damian leaned closer to his green friend and said, “You two have met before.”

Garfield looked around the room before hesitantly whispering, “Agent A?”

Alfred leaned forward and winked at the teen before saying, “Thank you all for being punctual this morning. Please, help yourselves. If you need anything you don’t see, just ask.”

Damian spun around and pointed a finger at Jai as the boy was opening his mouth, “No ketchup, Jai. That’s disgusting.”

The boy’s look fell as Alfred said, “Really, Master Damian. That is no way to address your friend.”

Damian turned back to Alfred and said, “If you say so, but he wants to cover _your_ eggs with ketchup.”

Only Damian was able to catch the twitch under Alfred’s eye at the prospect.

Alfred was barely able to say, “If you would like some ketchup, I shall retrieve it.”

Jai looked around the dining room before saying, “Only if I’m not going to lose friends over it.”

“Very well,” Alfred said, “Please, eat up.”

Damian nodded to his team as Alfred turned to leave the dining room, and they attacked the buffet table.

Damian ushered Garfield over to the table, and Garfield said, “You weren’t kidding. He really isn’t your grandfather.”

Damian sighed lightly, “I wish he was.”

Damian made sure the rest of his team filled their plates and sat at the table before he even reached for a plate of his own. Alfred returned with a bottle of ketchup as Damian sat down.

Damian looked up at Alfred and said, “I think you made less food for the last society party, Alfred.”

Alfred smiled, “The last party was drinks and appetizers, so yes, this is more food. I was cooking under the impression that I was feeding growing young gentlemen and ladies.”

“It won’t go to waste, Mr. Alfred,” Jon said.

Alfred turned his smile to Jon, “Thank you for the reassurance, Master Jonathan. You are aware I dislike wasting food.”

Alfred left the room as the group got down to eating.

Once most of the food had been devoured, and the kids sat around the table, looking ready to fall asleep again, Garfield asked, “Do you really live here, D?”

Damian nodded, “This is Father’s ancestral home.”

“Where are we,” Garfield asked.

“Which answer do you want,” Damian asked in return.

Garfield looked around again, “The one that explains all of this.”

“This is the dining room of Wayne Manor,” Damian said.

“Google it when you get home,” Jai said, “You won’t believe it.”

Damian continued, “We are in the foothills, to the west of Gotham City.”

Garfield asked nervously, “Can we, um, see what the rest of the house looks like?”

“Inside or outside,” Damian asked.

“Inside,” Garfield said in a questioning tone.

Jai snorted, “We don’t have the time for that. Our test is on Saturday. You wouldn’t finish by then.”

“Outside,” Gar asked.

“That would help you believe Jai’s statement,” Irey said.

They had all noticed the disbelief on Garfield’s face. Damian stood and patted Garfield’s shoulder, “Come on. You won’t believe them until you see it.”

As soon as he heard chairs being pushed away from the table, Alfred entered the dining room again. He was pleased to see most of his serving dishes standing empty on the buffet table. “Can I get anything else for anyone,” Alfred asked.

The kids all stopped, and Jai said, “No, I’m stuffed.”

“That’s not something that happens often,” Irey said.

Damian stared intently at his team and mouthed, “Thank you.”

The team all started in shock and turned to Alfred with large smiles. “Thank you, Mr. Alfred.”

“You are most welcome, children,” Alfred said, “Please let me know if I may be of service.”

“I’ll let you know before we leave, Alfred,” Damian said.

“Thank you, Master Damian.”

Damian waved the kids out of the dining room and headed for the front door. On the way, Damian said softly, “Didn’t I ask you all to be on your best behavior? Alfred won’t do this again if we’re rude to him. Please and thank you are the very least of the requirements.”

“Sorry, D,” Jai said as the elder boy opened the front door.

“Did you ask Mr. Alfred to set this up for us,” Lian asked.

Damian nodded, “I knew we were going to have a late night last night, and that you’d be hungry this morning. I…I thought you all deserved something special for your hard work.”

Irey eyed Damian as they walked down the front steps, “You set this up in advance. There was no way you could have known ahead of time if we would put in any hard work.”

“I knew,” Damian said, “I know my team. You wouldn’t have showed up for any of our meetings if you weren’t going to put in the work.”

“Whoa,” Garfield exclaimed as he got a good look at the Manor for the first time. “You live here?”

Jai patted Garfield on the back, “Seriously, Google ‘Bruce Wayne’ when you get home.”

“Is that your Dad, Damian,” Garfield asked.

Damian nodded, “Yeah. You can Google ‘Damian Wayne’ too, but you won’t find as much.”

“What does your Dad do,” Garfield asked, “I mean, Mom was a Hollywood actress, and we couldn’t even afford one room of this place.”

“He’s the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, the biggest corporation in the state,” Damian said, “This house has been in the family for longer than the United States has been a country.”

“Wow,” Garfield whispered, “How long would it take to see all of the rooms?”

“All one hundred sixty-eight of them,” Damian asked with a smirk, “I’ve lived here for almost six years, and I haven’t seen all of them yet. If that was all you did, with only stopping for meals and sleep, you could probably see the whole house in a week or two.”

Garfield was staring at the house, wanting to ask so many more questions. He settled on just one, which he asked the teen quietly, “Will I ever be invited here again?”

Damian gave a soft smile, “I think that can be arranged.”

“Cool,” Gar said with a smile, “Mom is never going to believe this.”

“Come on,” Damian said, walking back into the Manor.

“Where are we going,” Jon asked.

“Back to the Mountain,” Damian said.

“More planning,” Jai asked.

“Do you think we need more planning,” Damian asked.

“I think we’re okay,” Jai said nervously, worried that he seemed to be speaking for the group.

Damian stopped outside of the grandfather clock, “What do the rest of you think?”

“We did a lot of work last night,” Lian said.

“I agree,” Damian said.

“Then, why are we going back to the Mountain, instead of going home from here,” Jon asked.

Damian smiled, “We should probably get our uniforms. Also, I want you all to take your notepads home and study what we came up with.”

“Oh, right,” Irey said.

Garfield looked around, then asked, “Hey, why did we stop here?”

“What’s one thing a big place like this needs, Gar,” Damian asked. Garfield shrugged, and Damian opened the clock passage to the Cave. Garfield’s jaw dropped as Damian smirked and said, “A secret passageway.”

“That is _so_ cool,” Garfield whispered.

The team materialized back at Mount Justice, and Damian said, “Okay, we did some good work last night. Make sure to straighten up your rooms before you head home. Try to get here by five on Saturday, so we can set up our surprises.”

The team left the elevator and headed for their rooms.

Irey stopped and watched Damian head away from his room. “Where are you going, Damian?”

“To clean up the dining room and rec room,” Damian said, “We left a bit of a mess last night.”

Jai and Irey looked at each other, then followed Damian. “We’ll take the Rec Room, D,” Jai said.

Damian nearly tripped over his own feet at the statement. “Thanks, you two. That will make this go quicker.”

The used spaces were quickly cleaned to Damian’s satisfaction. The bedrooms ended up looking like they hadn’t been used.

The team gathered in the control room before leaving. “Make sure to study our plans,” Damian said, “If you have any questions, or just want to talk, give me a call. Other than that, I’ll see you all on Saturday.”

The team broke up and returned to their homes. Damian was the last one to leave, and found himself facing a stern butler upon his return to the Cave.

“Hi, Alfred,” Damian said, “Thanks for putting that breakfast together for us this morning. I think you blew my team’s minds.”

“You are welcome, young sir,” Alfred said, “Did you forget to do something earlier?”

Damian gasped, “I forgot to tell you we were leaving. I’m sorry, Alfred. Really, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Alfred held his stern gaze for several seconds before softening his look, “I accept your apology, young sir. Keeping track of a small herd is no easy feat, and it is easy to forget the small things.”

“I hope we weren’t too much trouble, Alfred,” Damian said as Alfred took the discarded uniform from the teen.

“Nonsense, Master Damian,” Alfred said, “I quite enjoyed your friends. They are all welcome anytime.”

Damian released a breath, “I had to remind them about their manners.”

“Well, we all need reminders, from time to time,” Alfred said, “What are your plans for the day, young man?”

“What time is it,” Damian asked.

Alfred checked his watch, “Just after ten, Master Damian.”

Damian nodded, “We got done earlier than I thought. I need to collect some materials for this weekend. Other than that, I had no plans. Did you need or want my assistance with anything?”

Alfred gave a small smile, “If you truly have nothing better to do, the tomatoes could use some tending.”

Damian nodded, “That sounds like a plan, Alfred.”

_Saturday…_

“Hey, Kiddo isn’t in his room.”

Alfred looked up from his dinner preparations with a smile, “No, he is not.”

“Where is he,” Bruce asked, “I wanted to talk to him about tonight.”

“If I may, sir, I will wish you luck with that,” Alfred said, “Master Damian has been quite focused on the event all week.”

“I noticed,” Bruce said in a near-grumble, “Where is he?”

Alfred turned away from the counter and said, “Master Damian left for Mount Justice an hour after you left for your late lunch with Miss Kyle.”

Bruce’s eyes widened, “To do what?”

“I believe he said he had quite a few preparations to make,” Alfred said, enjoying the concerned look on Bruce’s face.

“Did he say what,” Bruce asked.

Alfred shook his head, “I was sworn to secrecy, sir.”

One of Damian’s preparations had been to enlist Alfred in making Bruce feel uncomfortable and putting him on his guard. Damian hadn’t actually shared any of his plans with the butler, outside of giving Alfred a couple conversation ideas that were bound to worry Bruce.

“He isn’t taking this scenario too far, is he,” Bruce asked with a slight waver in his voice.

Alfred’s smile grew as he could see the wheels turning in Bruce’s head, “Are you concerned about your ability to circumvent your son’s preparations, sir?”

Bruce tried, and failed, to stop his eye roll, “Yes, Alfred. I am. My son is a genius with a hidden evil streak that tends to surface just when I don’t want it to. I don’t think the League is prepared for what we’re facing tonight.”

Bruce pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed Clark’s number. The call was answered with a, “Hello?”

“Hello, Clark.”

“Hi, Bruce. What’s up?”

“Hey, is Jon still there,” Bruce asked.

The Man of Steel nodded on his end of the phone, “He is, but he was just getting ready to leave. Jon said Damian asked his team to show up around five. Jon doesn’t want to be late. He’s pretty excited for tonight.”

“Around five, huh,” Bruce said thoughtfully.

“What’s up, Bruce,” Clark asked at the cautious tone in Bruce’s voice.

Bruce spoke quietly, but intently, “Damian has been there since two.”

“Really,” Clark asked in surprise.

In the background, Bruce could hear Jon call out, “I’m leaving. See you later, Dad.”

“Okay, Jon,” Clark said absently before talking to Bruce again, “What are you thinking, Bruce?”

Bruce gave a small sigh, “I think we didn’t prepare enough for this test.”

Alfred couldn’t quite stifle his laugh at Bruce’s comment.

“You really think the League can’t handle six children,” Clark asked.

“That’s just the sort of attitude Damian would count on us taking,” Bruce said.

“But, they’re our kids,” Clark said.

Bruce nodded, “Exactly. They’re _our_ kids. Five children with the best training we could give them, being led by a teen who was hand-picked by the League for his ability to get the most out of our kids, who was born, bred, and trained to rule the world by a shadowy secret organization. A teen who, incidentally, was given only one restriction on tonight’s event; no lethal force. We specifically told him that everything else is on the table. He’s had a week to plan and prepare for tonight, and has access to all of my resources. What do you think now?”

Clark sighed, “I think we’re in for a long night. Should we call an early meeting at the Watchtower?”

“That might not be a bad idea,” Bruce said, “I’d say we should cheat a little and check the cameras for preparations, but Damian knows he has administrator control over the Mountain. He’ll have shut them off by now.”

“If the kids are already at the Mountain, maybe we should get to the Watchtower,” Clark said.

Bruce checked his watch, and saw that it was just after five o’clock. “You call Diana, Ollie, and Roy. I’ll call Wally, Hal, and Dinah. We’ll meet at the Watchtower in an hour.”

“Do you want to give the kids that much lead time,” Clark asked. “Anyway, we weren’t going to invade until nine because Dinah and Ollie said they couldn’t get free any earlier.”

“They’ve already had a week,” Bruce said, “another hour won’t change our chances any. Still, give them a call and see if they can come earlier.”

Bruce hung his phone up and turned back to Alfred. The butler made no effort to hide his pleased look. “You’re enjoying this a little too much, Alfred.”

“I quite am, sir,” Alfred said while chuckling, “You wanted the children prepared for anything, so you put the best person for the job on the task, without thinking of what his goal would be.”

Bruce shook his head, “And, what do you think his goal is?”

Alfred’s smile lit up the kitchen, “Why, to defeat you, of course. How many of the recordings of his training sessions with his team have we observed? In how many of those did Master Damian tell the children to ‘be better than our parents’? You’re afraid he might have actually done it.”

“Of course, I am,” Bruce grumbled, “I always knew he would surpass me one day. I fully expected it. I just hoped it would be a little further down the road. I want my boy to still need me.”

“What makes you think he doesn’t,” Alfred asked, “Master Damian is working as hard as he is to impress you, not to supplant you. He wants nothing more than to do well in this test, to please you.”

“Well, he is taking this very seriously, along with his whole assignment as team leader,” Bruce said, “I’m impressed.”

“Very good, sir,” Alfred said.

Bruce thought for a second, then said, “I’m going to draft Tim into tonight’s event, just to cover our bases. Looks like we won’t be home for dinner, after all.”

Alfred sighed and turned back to his preparations, “I shall just freeze this, then, and perhaps serve a late dinner.”

_The Watchtower…_

Batman and Red Robin walked into the control room of the Watchtower to find Superman and Wonder Woman waiting for them.

“What do we have,” Batman asked.

“A few too many nerves for a test of this level,” Wonder Woman said, feeling the uneasy emotions of the men in the room.

Batman stared at the woman for a second before saying, “We gave my son free reign, a long leash, and only one rule. The only guarantee we have is that no one will die tonight. Don’t you think we should start taking this as seriously as Robin obviously is taking this?”

Flash, Arsenal, and Green Arrow walked into the control room as Superman said, “Superboy seemed awfully excited and confident for the test tonight.”

Flash nodded, “The twins did, too. They both spent hours studying a notepad that they wouldn’t let me see. They said it was their battle plan.”

Arsenal released a breath, “Speedy had one, too. Their plan filled up most of the notebook.”

“Did you read it,” Batman asked.

Arsenal shook his head, “She wouldn’t let me. When she didn’t have it with her, she kept it with her, um, girl stuff. I wasn’t going in there unless it was on fire.”

Flash nodded in an understanding way, as the father of a teenage girl, “Understandable.”

Batman sighed, “Red Robin, see if you can hack into Mount Justice. What are we looking at here?”

Red Robin typed into the main computer. He could feel the eyes of the Justice League boring into his back. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling, especially with what he had to report after his quick search. “Uh, we are looking at nothing.”

“What do you mean,” Superman asked.

Red Robin brought up the feeds from the Mount Justice security cameras. All that was displayed on the screens were messages reading ‘no signal’. “Robin must have wanted to keep his preparations private. Interior and exterior camera feeds are locked out. It had to be Robin who did it, too.”

“How can you tell it was Robin,” Batman asked.

Red Robin brought up another screen and said, “The password prompt has been changed to Arabic.”

Batman growled, “No wonder he was so confident in his password.”

“What do you mean,” Wonder Woman asked.

Batman turned to face the woman, “Robin’s first language was Arabic. I still don’t speak a word of it.”

Red Robin smiled, “What happened to your trade? He was going to teach you Arabic, and you were going to teach him Vietnamese.”

“We haven’t found the time yet,” Batman said.

“It’s just Robin’s nature to plan his defense of Mount Justice around stopping you,” Flash said.

Batman nodded, “Right. Should we plan our invasion, now?”

“How do we want to go in,” Superman asked, “Zeta Tube is out. We promised the kids that much.”

“Which terminal should we target,” Wonder Woman asked.

“Which terminal,” Flash asked, “How many are there?”

“Six,” Batman said.

“How many do the kids know about,” Arsenal asked.

“I watched Robin give his team a tour of Mount Justice on Tuesday night,” Batman said, “It was more comprehensive than any tour of Mount Justice I ever gave. Robin knows about all six terminals, which means the kids know about all six.”

Flash shook his head, “I didn’t even know about all six.”

“Do we just want to split up and hit all six,” Green Arrow asked.

Batman shook his head, “We only have to worry about three terminals. The three in the bedrooms won’t be active. They were turned off when the kids were given the Mountain. They can be turned back on, now that the kids have full Mount Justice access, but Robin will leave them off until after the test.”

“How can you be sure,” Green Lantern asked.

“I know my son,” Batman said, “He’ll want to limit our avenues of attack to certain areas.”

“If you know your son so well,” Green Arrow said, “Then what is his defense strategy?”

Batman thought for a second, “The best thing for him to do is to divide his team and stake out each of the computer terminals. So, we know that won’t be an option. Robin will keep his team mobile, so we can’t pin them down easily.”

“Wait,” Flash said, “Why won’t he go with the easy plan?”

Red Robin snorted, “ _Because_ it’s the easy plan.”

“I say we focus on one terminal,” Wonder Woman said.

“Agreed,” Batman said with a nod.

“Should we make it fair on the kids and go for the main terminal,” Superman asked.

Batman turned to look at Superman, “Do you really think Robin will try to make it fair on us?”

Green Lantern smiled, “You’ve been waiting for something like this, haven’t you? A chance to test your son. A chance to see what he can really do.”

“You know, Batman, other dads just play catch with their sons for father-son bonding time,” Green Arrow said.

Batman stared at Green Lantern for a minute. The League knew the silence meant that Green Lantern had hit the nail on the head.

Wonder Woman smiled behind Batman’s back and said, “The main terminal is in the largest open area of the Mountain. There is more of a chance for a confrontation there.”

“A confrontation,” Flash asked worriedly, “Do you really think Robin can convince the kids to fight us? Their parents?”

“Yes,” Batman and Red Robin said at the same time.

The League stared at the Bats for a minute before Batman said, “Showing that they can stand up to us, that they aren’t afraid, will tell the League that they are ready for what is coming next. It shows that they are able to prioritize the mission.”

“Maybe we should focus on a different terminal,” Green Arrow said.

Superman nodded, “Probably. The main terminal will also be the hardest one to directly access, if we can’t use the Zeta Tube. We never fixed the access door on that level. It’s still welded shut.”

“The one in the storage bay would be the most accessible,” Batman said.

“I agree,” Wonder Woman said.

“Enter through the loading dock, then,” Arsenal asked.

“That will be the hardest point for the kids to defend,” Green Arrow concurred.

“We should split our force,” Batman said, “Half of us come in through the loading dock, the other half come up through the bottom of the facility, in the electrical room.”

“Why there,” Superman asked.

Batman smirked, “Like I said, I watched Robin’s tour of the Mountain. They started at the top and worked their way down. They were tired by the time they got to the bottom floor of the facility. They spent the least amount of time there, and are most likely less familiar with that floor.”

Superman looked around at the group, then said, “Okay. It sounds like we have a plan. Let’s head down and take a look at the Mountain. It’s going to take us a while to actually get there, since we can’t just take the Tube straight there.”

_Meanwhile…_

Superboy stepped through the Zeta Tube into Mount Justice to find Robin pacing back and forth in front of the computer.

The Super Youth approached nervously and asked, “Rob, is everything okay?”

Robin stopped his pacing and approached the younger hero, shaking his head, “No. This isn’t good. This isn’t good at all.”

“What’s going on, Rob?”

“The League is screwing with us, SB,” Robin said.

Robin was breathing heavily, and Superboy said, “Whoa, calm down, man. Take a breath here. Tell me what’s going on.

The Zeta Tube activated, announcing Beast Boy’s arrival at the Mountain. Superboy waved him over, calling out, “BB, hurry up.”

Beast Boy rushed over and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know yet,” Superboy said, “Rob found something, but he hasn’t told me what yet.”

Robin looked at the boys, then asked quietly, “Do either of you have your phones?”

Both boys shook their heads no.

“You said we don’t get signal here, so I don’t bring it here anymore,” Superboy said.

“It doesn’t fit in my uniform,” Beast Boy said with a shrug.

Robin sighed, “Damn. We have to wait, then.”

“For what?”

“For the rest of the team to arrive,” Robin said.

They didn’t have to wait long. A minute later, the three remaining team members stepped through the Zeta Tube.

Superboy impatiently waved them over, then turned back to Robin, “Okay, everyone’s here. Tell us what’s wrong.”

“What’s wrong,” Mercury asked.

Robin had to take a deep breath before he could speak, “I got here early to set up our traps…”

“Whoa,” Impulse said, “Is it safe to talk about that? What about the cameras?”

“Nothing we can do about that now,” Robin said, “Like I was saying, I came early to set up our traps. First thing I did was check the cameras. It didn’t do me any good.”

“What do you mean,” Speedy asked.

“I couldn’t get in,” Robin said, “I’ve been locked out of the computer.”

“I thought you said the League couldn’t figure out your password,” Superboy said.

Robin shook his head, a hint of an embarrassed blush coloring his cheeks, “I didn’t think they could. I used a password I haven’t used in all the time I’ve known Father. It wasn’t even in English.”

“So, what does that mean,” Mercury asked.

“I think the League is screwing with us,” Robin said, “I think they locked out my access to the computer to make this harder on us. More than that, I think they’re already here, inside the Mountain, hiding from us.”

“Why do you think that,” Impulse asked.

“Why else would they lock us out of the cameras,” Robin asked, “So we wouldn’t see them here or try to track their movements.”

Superboy looked confused, “Do you think they would come in and access the computer before the test starts to say they won? That doesn’t sound like the Justice League.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Robin said, “but I found more. Come with me.”

Robin turned and headed for the elevator, but stopped after only a couple steps and walked back to the computer. Robin picked up a small box and opened it, holding it out to his team, “I almost forgot. Here, we each need one of these. Comm devices. We’ve gone over how to use these before.”

The team each grabbed an earpiece, and Speedy asked, “Where’s yours?”

Robin turned his head to show the girl his right ear, “Already got mine. You all remember how to use them, right? We have five frequencies to work with. Open channel is one. Team comms is channel three. Emergency channel is five. If anyone thinks the League is listening in on our frequency, call out shift. On that call, we wait five seconds, then change to the next channel. Even channels should be used as little as possible. It prevents bleed-over into the odd channels. Let’s go.”

Robin and the team took the elevator down to the habitation level and to the exit door.

“This is the one that leads to the outside, right,” Mercury asked.

“Yes, it is,” Robin said, opening the door.

Robin pulled a flashlight from his utility belt and shone the beam down the path. During their tour, the path had been clear. Now, roughly twenty feet down the path, a cascade of rocks blocked the way.

“They caved in the tunnel,” Superboy asked.

“I’m hoping it was just a landslide,” Robin said. “Come on, there’s more. Watch your step from here. I set up our traps while I was searching the Mountain.”

The team followed in Robin’s footsteps as he walked through Mount Justice, figuring Robin wouldn’t set off one of his own traps. They took the elevator down to the bottom floor, and Robin walked over to the exit door. It stood wide open.

“Why is that door open,” Beast Boy asked nervously.

“This is how I found it when I got here,” Robin said. He then turned to look at his team and said, “I don’t think we’re alone in the Mountain right now.”

“Do you think it’s the League in here, or someone else,” Superboy asked.

“Who else could it be,” Robin asked.

“Well, Dad was still at home when I left to come here,” Superboy said.

“Dad was still at home when we left, too,” Impulse said.

Robin thought about that information for a second, “The League wouldn’t leave any of these doors open or unlocked, even if they were trying to scare us.”

“Do you think someone found the Mountain,” Speedy asked.

Robin sighed, “It’s happened before. That was the whole reason the League moved to the Watchtower. Mount Justice was infiltrated. The League made a big deal of reporting to the world that their base was moving off-planet and Mount Justice was decommissioned and filled in.”

“So, they lied to the world,” Mercury said.

Robin shrugged, “It’s not the first time.”

“Okay, so someone found the Mountain,” Impulse said, “Who would be able to lock you out of the computer?”

“That is why I believe it is someone from the League,” Robin said, “Red Robin and Cyborg could lock me out easily, if they wanted to. Batman could do it, too, but not as easily as Red Robin or Cyborg.”

“Are Red Robin and Cyborg taking part in the attack,” Beast Boy asked.

“I wouldn’t put it past Father to call in the entire Justice League for tonight.”

The team turned and stared at a large piece of machinery as the mechanical whine descended the scale before silencing.

“Um, is that supposed to do that,” Superboy asked.

“No,” Robin said suspiciously.

“What just happened,” Impulse asked.

“The generator turned off,” Robin said.

“Why,” Beast Boy asked.

Robin shook his head, “If I had to guess, I’d say the Zeta Tube was just deactivated. There is still one generator on. The Mountain normally runs on one generator. The Zeta Tube runs off of a separate generator, which is on as long as the Zeta Tube is activated.”

“Only the League could do that,” Mercury said darkly.

“I’m scared, Robin,” Impulse said.

“Me too,” Superboy agreed.

Robin took a breath, “This has to be the League screwing with us, trying to point out that we are nowhere near ready for field operations. I just wish I knew what I did to Father to piss him off this much. I always knew he’d make this hard on us, but I didn’t think he’d play mind games like this.”

“What should we do, Rob,” Mercury asked.

Robin walked over to the open door, closed it, and locked it. He walked slowly back to his team and said seriously, “It’s obvious that our test has started. If the whole League isn’t here yet, they will be soon. You’re as prepared for this as I can make you; as prepared for this as we’re going to get. We have to work with what we have. I set up our traps where we indicated in our plan. If you studied, you should remember where they are. This is _our_ home. _Our_ House. _Ours_. There are invaders in _our_ home, and it’s _our_ job to flush them out. Spread out and find them.”

_Meanwhile…_

“Hey, check this out.”

Superman turned in the direction of Green Lantern’s call. The League was exploring the exterior of Mount Justice, wondering what sort of traps were waiting for them.

Superman floated over to the glowing man and asked, “What is it?”

“Take a look,” Green Lantern said.

Superman looked at the fissure in the rock face, and looked concerned at the tumbled boulders. “Isn’t this the path to one of the entrances?”

“Not anymore,” Batman said, walking up next to the Man of Steel.

“That’s one way to keep us out of the Mountain,” Lantern said.

“You think the kids did this,” Superman asked.

Batman shook his head, “Robin is competitive, but he’s not destructive.”

Superman and Green Lantern stared at Batman, and Batman rolled his eyes under his cowl, “Okay, he’s not destructive enough to do this. He’s not going to cause a landslide on purpose.”

“It looks more like a landslide than anything Robin could have done on his own,” Superman said.

Green Lantern used his ring to scan the rubble, then said, “I’m not showing anything that could have helped this along. I’m leaning towards a natural occurrence.”

“The kids didn’t do this,” Superman said.

Green Lantern sighed, “So much for the easy way in.”

“The easy way in is through the loading bay, remember,” Batman said.

Green Lantern thought for a second, “I guess you’re right. Should we go?”

“Check in with the other team first,” Batman said, activating his radio, “Wonder Woman, do you read me?”

“We’re in the tunnel,” Wonder Woman said through heavy static, “It’s hard to hear you.”

“We’re heading for the loading bay now,” Batman said, “It looks like the entrance to one of the outer doors collapsed. We don’t think the kids did it. We’ll have to get it cleared out after the test.”

“I think we’re going to have to do some foundation work on the Mountain after the test, too,” Wonder Woman said, “We’ve got a couple inches of standing water in this tunnel. Can’t tell where it’s coming from.”

“We’ll worry about that later,” Batman said, “Continue with the plan.”

Batman closed out the communication, only to have another call a second later, “Batman, are you there?”

Batman held up a hand to stop his teammates from leaving, “Go ahead, Red Robin.”

Red Robin, who was monitoring from the Watchtower, asked, “Are you inside Mount Justice yet?”

“Not yet,” Batman said, “Have you made any progress on the cameras?”

“No, they’re still locked out,” Red Robin said, “I can’t tell if this was actually done by Robin, though.”

“What do you mean,” Batman asked.

“I can usually recognize Robin’s work on a computer,” Red Robin said, “This is similar, but it just doesn’t read like Robin’s level of hacking.”

“Maybe he taught some stuff to the kids,” Batman posited.

“I don’t think so, Batman,” Red Robin said, “Not at this level. This hack is beyond Robin’s abilities. At least, from what I saw the last time I saw Robin on a computer.”

Batman stood up straight, shock evident on what could be seen of his face, “What are you saying, Red Robin?”

Green Lantern and Superman stared at the Dark Knight, concerned at his tone of voice.

Red Robin released a long breath before saying, “Best case scenario, Robin is better at computer work than I thought. Worst case scenario, a third party has joined tonight’s event. Whether they are inside the Mountain or outside, I can’t tell.”

“Batman, what is it,” Superman asked.

“Red Robin doesn’t think all of this is the kids preparing for an attack. They might not be alone in the Mountain.”

Superman looked acutely worried before Red Robin came back over the comms, “Uh-oh.”

Batman shook his head, “Patch everyone into this call, Red Robin, and I don’t want to hear uh-oh.”

“Who said uh-oh,” Flash asked over the line, “Why did you say uh-oh?”

“The Zeta Tube just went offline,” Red Robin said.

“We weren’t using it, anyway,” Flash said, confused, “Why would Robin shut it off?”

“Could be trying to keep us honest,” Wonder Woman said.

“Or, it could have been someone else,” Batman said.

“Who, though,” Superman asked.

“Could be anyone,” Red Robin said, “I’m not getting any of the tell-tale signs of this being a hack that Robin could do.”

“Are you saying that Mount Justice has been hacked,” Arsenal exclaimed.

“Wonder Woman,” Batman asked, “How much longer until you can breach the Mountain?”

The woman thought for a second, then said, “Assuming it’s just a locked door at the end of this path, and the water doesn’t get any deeper, another fifteen minutes or so. If the children set something up to keep us out, could be longer.”

“Um…” Red Robin said nervously.

Batman shook his head, “How is it getting worse, Red Robin?”

“I’m reading a dampening field in the Mountain,” Red Robin said, “You go inside the facility, your comms won’t work.”

Batman released a breath in a huff, “Of course. Okay, I don’t like this. If this is all Robin’s plan, then we’re promoting him to the League Council. If this isn’t his plan, then we need to get in there, now. Get inside this Mountain and determine the condition of the kids. Go.”

_Meanwhile…_

“Hafid.”

Robin stopped in his tracks and broke out in a cold sweat as that one word froze his blood.

“That’s not fucking funny,” Robin snapped over the radio, “Whoever said that, we’re going to have a long talk when this is done.”

“You know who this is, Hafid,” the voice said.

“Who is Hafid,” Superboy asked over the radio.

“Switch,” Robin said harshly, “Everyone, off this channel, now.”

Robin heard five clicks over the comms, then said, “Father, if this is part of your psychological warfare, you’ve gone too far.”

“This is not your Father,” the voice said, “Come to me, and all will be explained.”

“This can’t be happening,” Robin muttered. _How can this be possible? How can…_ she _be here?_ “Where are you?”

“A large room,” the voice said, “The sign on the door said Training Room.”

“I’ll be right there,” Robin growled, running for the elevator.

_Meanwhile…_

“Batman, come in.”

Batman sighed, “We’re about to make entry, Red Robin.”

“This can’t wait,” Red Robin said hurriedly, “You have to know this before you go in.”

“Hurry up, then,” Batman said.

Red Robin took a breath, “I was able to isolate some audio from a transmission, just before the dampening field went up. Listen to this.”

Red Robin played the audio, and all color fled from Batman’s face.

Superman looked over strangely at Batman, “Robin thought that was you? Who is that really? What’s going on?”

“This is bad,” Batman said, “Robin thinks this is part of the exercise.”

“Who is that,” Superman asked again.

Batman had to swallow hard before he could say, “That is the voice of Talia. Robin’s mother.”

_Meanwhile…_

Robin stepped out of the elevator to find the training floor suspiciously empty. _I don’t like this. Where are the guards? If that really is Mother, there is no way she is here alone. Oh, no. I can’t let my team anywhere near Mother’s assassins. They aren’t ready._

Robin activated his radio and turned to channel three. Taking a breath, Robin called out, “Alamo! Alamo! Alamo!”

_I hope they actually listen this time. They can’t handle fully trained assassins._

Robin turned off his radio and walked into the Training Room. He stopped after just clearing the entryway and looked around.

“Where are they, Mother?”

Talia stood in the center of the training room; a mysterious smile displayed on her face. Even though it had been over a year since Damian had seen her, she hadn’t changed.

“Where are who, Hafid,” Talia asked in an almost kind voice, setting Robin’s nerves on edge.

“Your guards, Mother,” Robin said, “I know you weren’t stupid enough to come here alone.”

Talia gave a small smile, “Oh, them. They’re around, making sure we aren’t interrupted.”

Robin shook his head, “You picked the wrong night to try something. The entire Justice League is on their way here right now.”

“I think my personal guards are more than enough to delay your Father and his associates,” Talia said, “I brought six; the same six I personally trained to take your place while you were here. Come closer, Hafid. Let me look at you.”

Robin walked forward a couple steps, and asked, “Why do you keep calling me Hafid? Did you forget my name?”

Talia shook her head, “Please, take that silly mask off. It’s just the two of us here.”

Damian didn’t know why he did it, but he peeled his domino mask off and stored it in his utility belt.

“There,” Talia said, “That’s better.”

“Answer my question, Mother,” Damian said, “Why that name?”

Talia cocked her head, “Why am I calling you Hafid? The name you adopted for your missions? What do you think the last five and a half years have been, my son?”

“My liberation,” Damian said seriously.

Talia shook her head, “You have been on a long-term mission. When I left you in Gotham City, I told you it would be a long mission. I tasked you to learn from your Father, and you did, but it is time to come home, my son. Your mission has been completed to my satisfaction. I’m proud of you.”

Damian felt immense confusion setting in. It was like his mind was unable to understand what he was being told. _She’s…she’s proud of me? Mother has never been proud of me. She’s never said that before. What is she really doing here? It’s nice to hear her say that, though. Does she really mean it? Could I…could I have been wrong about her?_

“You…you’re proud of me,” Damian asked in a small, confused voice.

Talia nodded, taking a couple steps forward, “I am, and so is your Grandfather. Your return will be celebrated within the League. You’ve grown so much, my son.”

“My return,” Damian asked, even more confused.

Talia stopped directly in front of Damian and smiled as she looked him up and down, “Do you remember our first trip to Gotham City? You swore to me that you would never wear one of those uniforms. You called them clown suits. You wear it well, but it is time to leave these childish things behind. Come, we can talk more on the boat.”

Talia reached out and grabbed Damian’s arm, shaking him out of his confusion. Damian ripped his arm out of Talia’s grip and said, “What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Talia sighed patiently, “Come now, Damian. This is how this mission was always supposed to end. It’s time to come home, to take your place in the League.”

Damian took a step back, “I am home. Father won’t allow this.”

“Your Father has no say in this,” Talia said, “Are you a man, or a cringing child? Make up your mind. Choose to make the most of your life. Come home, where you belong.”

Damian shook his head, “What are you trying to do? Have you forgotten that you named me an enemy of the House of Al-Ghul? That the last time we saw each other, you kidnapped me and my brother, tortured us, and threatened to kill us?”

“A test, my son,” Talia said, “A test of your resourcefulness. You both survived. You passed.”

“You were also told, in no uncertain terms, to stay away from me and my family,” Damian said, “Superman told you that this entire half of the planet is off-limits to you. I can’t, and won’t, stop him from taking you away this time.”

Talia just gave a bemused smile, “Enough of this, Damian. It’s time to go home. Your Grandfather misses you. Everything is prepared for your return. Your room has been enlarged and upgraded. You have all new clothes waiting for you. You have a place of honor at your Grandfather’s side. You will no longer be the Demon’s Fist. You, Damian, will be your Grandfather’s Right Hand.”

Damian’s eyes widened incrementally as he understood what he was being told, “That’s your position.”

“You’ve earned it, my son,” Talia said, reaching out to Damian again, “Come, the boat is waiting.”

Again, Damian shook Talia’s hand off of his arm, but it was much harder to do this time, “I’m not going with you. You can’t buy my affections, Mother. You said to make up my mind. I choose to stay with Father.”

“Think about this, Damian,” Talia said, “You are an Assassin. One of the best there has ever been. You don’t belong here. You belong with us, with the League of Assassins, doing what you were born to do. The League can offer you so much more than your Father possibly can. He has allowed you to grow soft. Where is my son? Where is my perfect assassin?”

“He’s been driven out. Banished,” Damian said, “Because Father gave me the one thing that the League can’t. Father gives me love. Unconditionally. No strings attached. His affections aren’t contingent on how well I completed my last mission. He’s allowed me to find what makes me happy.”

Talia nodded and sighed, “I thought that might sway your decision. I am prepared to offer you the one thing your Father only allows you to have in small doses. Return to the League, and it will be yours, forever.”

“What is that,” Damian asked curiously.

Talia’s smile grew, knowing that Damian was actually considering the offer. “Come home, and Robin Marie Abbey will be yours.”

Damian looked at Talia in confusion, “What do you mean? She’s already mine.”

“When your Father approves of it,” Talia said, “With the League, there will be no limits placed on you. Those laws that are keeping you two apart here don’t exist in the League of Assassins. You will spend your days attending to League business, and your nights in the arms of your Beloved.”

Damian couldn’t lie to himself; the offer was very tempting. _Robin and I can finally be together, like we’ve always wanted. We won’t have to wait anymore…Wait a minute…_

Damian’s eyes narrowed dangerously, “Wait. What did you say?”

“I said, return home with me, and I will allow your girlfriend to be your wife,” Talia said, “The two of you will want for nothing. You can start a new family, the next generation of the League.”

Damian shook his head, “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Talia eyed Damian, “Are you referring to Robin Marie Abbey, of 21415 Eagan Avenue, in Fairbanks, Alaska?”

“Yes,” Damian said fiercely, “I never told you her name, or any of the rest of that information.”

“You told me her name,” Talia said.

“Her first name,” Damian snapped.

“I have my sources,” Talia said with a smile, “You, more than anyone, should remember that. How is your back, by the way? Have the grafts healed? Dr. Ho said you had a difficult recovery.”

“What are you talking about,” Damian asked nervously.

Talia nodded, “He said you were out of it quite a bit. Enough that you didn’t notice several important details.”

“What details,” Damian asked.

“For one, the injection of Lazarus fluid he gave you, to try to heal your shoulder,” Talia said, “It wasn’t easy to get it to him, either, and it nearly stopped your heart. Dr. Ho changed your chart to read as a severe infection. Didn’t you think it was odd, how quickly you recovered after your ‘surgery’ to repair an infected graft?”

“I don’t understand,” Damian said.

Talia stared Damian in the eye, “You know the League of Assassins has assets all over the world. Dr. Ho is one of them. He was very handsomely rewarded for keeping me updated on your condition, and earned a nice bonus for informing me of your girlfriend.”

That changed everything in Damian’s mind. _Of course, she would spy on me. Why would she try to heal me, though? Is she telling the truth? Does she really want me to go home with her? Why do I think this is going to get worse before it gets better?_

Talia and Damian stared critically into each other’s eyes for half a minute before Talia said, “How about this. We’ll head to the boat, and when we get there, you can call Robin and tell her the news of the new life you two will share. Then, the three guards I sent to Alaska will escort her to join us at the League.”

“You sent assassins to Alaska,” Damian asked darkly.

Talia’s smile grew, “Yes. They reported in just before we first spoke. They are awaiting orders.”

“You sent assassins to my girlfriend’s home,” Damian asked, his voice rising.

Talia nodded, “They can either be assassins or escorts. That is all up to you. You should make a decision quickly, though. I’m not sure how long they can remain unnoticed.”

Damian’s eyes widened, and he shouted, “They’re inside the house!?!”

“Eagerly awaiting my orders, outside of Robin’s bedroom,” Talia said, “The second door on the left of the upstairs landing, right? Make your choice, son, or no one will escape the next fire to strike the Abbey’s home.”

Damian froze, and there was an almost audible snap. Talia smiled widely as she got what she wanted. Damian’s switch had been thrown. Damian Wayne, son of Bruce, was gone. In his place stood the Demon’s Fist.

Damian Al-Ghul was back.

Long repressed instincts awoke and moved to the forefront in Damian’s mind. Forgotten tendencies worked their way to the front, and again became as familiar as breathing. The crime fighter was no more. A master assassin now stood in the Mount Justice training room.

A master assassin who had just found and locked on to his target.

Damian strode forward slowly, evaluating the woman standing in front of him. Damian’s change was so complete that even his American accent was cast aside.

“You will call them off, right now. Our issues have nothing to do with Robin or her family.”

“You know how to make that happen,” Talia said.

“You never had any plan to take me back,” Damian said accusingly, “This is all a power play for you. You’ve made your final mistake.”

“And you are wasting time,” Talia said, “There is only one way to save this girl you claim to love. Maybe she’s not as important to you as you say.” Talia pulled a phone out of her pocket, “Maybe I should just put her out of your misery right now?”

Talia lifted the phone, but before she could do more than look at it, Damian reached out and slapped the device out of Talia’s hand. It hit the ground and broke in half.

Talia eyed the phone for a second, then looked up at Damian, “You have sealed her fate.”

“And yours,” Damian snarled, “ _Never_ question my love for Robin. It is far deeper than my love for you ever was.”

“Is that so,” Talia said, “Well, if you don’t love me, then you will fear me.”

Talia took a fighting stance that Damian was very familiar with. It was the League of Assassins preferred fighting style.

“I used to fear you,” Damian said as he took his own fighting stance, “You hold no influence over me anymore.”

Talia eyed the unfamiliar stance and asked, “Did you learn that from your Father?”

Talia threw three quick jabs. Damian blocked two, but the third made contact with Damian’s chin, rocking his head back slightly.

Damian took a step back and said, “That is the last time you will ever touch me.”

Talia attacked again, but this time, Damian blocked all six strikes. Talia kicked at Damian’s legs, but Damian blocked both kicks. Talia threw an intricate series of punches and kicks at her son, but Damian blocked them all easily.

Talia took a step back, and Damian smiled, “You asked about my fighting style. Father didn’t teach me this. This is a style I developed all on my own. It’s designed to perfectly counter your League style.”

“Then why did I hit you,” Talia asked in a snarky tone.

Damian smirked, “I wanted you to feel like you stood a chance against me.”

Talia attacked again, and again Damian blocked every blow.

“Your style is only half complete,” Talia said, “You rely too much on defense. You can block my attacks, but you have no offense.”

Damian shunted Talia’s next attack off to the side, causing Talia to stumble forward. A quick shove sent Talia to her knees. “My style is complete. There is a difference in not attacking due to inability and not attacking due to strategy. I learned a lot from Father; information that is not available in the League. For example, even equal opponents are no problem, if you take a second to think.”

Talia popped back to her feet and snarled, “You consider yourself my equal?”

“Of course not,” Damian said as he caught Talia’s next punch and pulled the woman in close, “I’m so far above you, that we aren’t even in the same league.”

Damian shoved Talia away and took a stance again. Damian blocked Talia’s next punch and launched his first counter strike, a jab to Talia’s chin. Two more solid jabs to Talia’s chin caused the woman to back up.

Instead of taking a second to analyze the situation, Talia dove in again, launching a series of punches and kicks at blinding speed. Damian blocked or avoided them all, and ended the series with a savage chop to Talia’s mouth, which split her lower lip and left blood dribbling down her chin.

“You’ll wish you hadn’t done that,” Talia said as she wiped a line of blood with the back of her hand.

“You’ll wish you never started this,” Damian spat back, “You’ll wish I’d never been created.”

“I’ve wished that for years,” Talia screamed.

Damian released a breath, “Very well, Talia. Good bye.”

For the first time this evening, Damian attacked first. The blows came fast and furious. Damian’s eyes were narrowed in concentration as he looked for an opening in Talia’s defense. He found several, and began to wear away at Talia’s strength.

The first indication that Talia was tiring was when she let a fist slip through a missed block, to land just below her left eye. Talia staggered back, and nearly lost her footing altogether. She looked up to find the killing machine that used to be her son bearing down on her, and for the first time understood why the Demon’s Fist had been so feared in the assassin community.

Damian’s only feeling was slight pleasure, that his target was taking damage. His blood lust only intensified when he hit the same spot again, causing a small split in Talia’s cheek that dribbled several drops of blood.

Talia tried to block out the flaming intensity she found in Damian’s eyes, and the true fear she felt at having this all aimed at her.

Damian surprised Talia when he started spinning, landing blows with each rotation. First a right cross, then a left backhand, followed by another cross and a quick backhand that spun Talia around. Damian kicked the back of Talia’s legs, sending her to her knees, before he brought both fists crashing down on the back of Talia’s head, sending her slamming to the floor.

“Face it, Talia,” Damian said, wiping at the sweat on his forehead, “You never had a chance of winning this.”

Talia spun around and swept Damian’s legs out from under him. “This isn’t over yet.”

Damian gave a feral smile as he rolled away from a follow up kick, “Good. I’m nowhere near done with you yet. As long as you draw breath, I won’t stop.”

“Exactly how I trained you,” Talia said.

“It’s a good thing you are so determined to die at my hands,” Damian snarled, “because I’ve wanted to kill you for years.”

“Then do it, my child,” Talia growled.

“I’ve waited for this for a long time,” Damian said as he and Talia circled each other, “You’ve done everything you could to ruin my life. I won’t miss you when you’re gone, but I’m going to take my time and enjoy this.”

Talia smiled, “You still think you can win this? At what cost? Are you truly willing to sacrifice the friends you’ve made, your family, your future, just to kill me?”

“Isn’t that what you were asking me to do earlier,” Damian said, “I’ll do what I must. You don’t get to walk out of this room. That is a solemn promise.”

Talia’s smile grew, “Spoken like a true assassin. You don’t even realize it. You are who you were meant to be. Your Grandfather will welcome you with open arms.”

“NEVER,” Damian shouted, charging at Talia.

Talia had specifically pushed Damian’s buttons, to make him angry, in the hopes of causing him to make a mistake. The enraged teen didn’t make a mistake, but his defense showed a couple small cracks. Talia was able to land a couple shots to Damian’s face. He didn’t bleed, but he would have a bruise in the morning.

The last shot knocked Damian’s head back enough that he had to take a step back and regroup for a second. Talia seized the moment to taunt him again.

“What happened,” Talia asked, “Didn’t you say that I wouldn’t touch you again?”

Damian’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and he snarled, “You’re fucking done, Talia.”

“Am I,” the woman asked with a smirk.

Damian jumped back into the fight and launched a flying punch at Talia’s head, which the woman blocked. Talia’s return jab was blocked, as was Damian’s follow up cross. Punches were thrown and blocked vigorously, until an uppercut slipped under Talia’s defense and caught her in the chin. Talia’s head snapped back violently, and Damian followed up the strike with a sharp kick to the side of Talia’s right knee. The woman’s knee buckled, and she gave a cry of pain as she fell to her knees. A spinning roundhouse kick to the side of Talia’s head widened the cut to her cheek and sent her slamming to the ground.

Damian followed up the assault with a steel-toed kick that landed deep in Talia’s stomach, knocking all of the air out of the woman and curling her into a little, protective ball.

“Do you get it now, Talia,” Damian shouted, kicking Talia in the stomach again. Talia gasped as she tried to regain her breath.

Damian shook his head and said, “You brought this on yourself. You’re going to die here.” Damian gave her a kick to her ribs, “And it’s all your fault!” Damian kicked his mother in the stomach again, “Why couldn’t you just listen to Grandfather?” Damian aimed another kick to Talia’s ribs. She blocked it with her arms, but still winced in pain. “We had an agreement. You stay away and you get to live.” Another kick to the ribs hit home this time, “Everything was fine! Why did you have to come back?”

Talia didn’t respond, so Damian kicked her in the face, sending her rolling across the training room floor. “Answer me, bitch,” Damian roared, “I’ve earned that much!”

Talia again didn’t respond. She couldn’t. In his current state of mind, Damian didn’t realize that his last kick had shattered Talia’s jaw.

Frustrated at the lack of response, Damian shouted, “Forget it. I’m just going to stomp the shit out of you right now. You’re going to fucking die!”

Damian stalked forward; laser focused on his target. Three steps away from his intended victim, he found his way blocked. He didn’t see the obstruction, but he felt his way impeded. Snarling, Damian lashed out, kicking and shoving his way forward, until he could approach Talia again.

“Did you think whatever that was would stop me, Talia,” Damian shouted at the stunned woman, “Nothing can stop me!”

What couldn’t stop Damian, and what he didn’t see block his path, was Jai. The young speedster had come across the training room to find Damian fully engaged in a brawl with an unfamiliar woman. Jai was scared to death of the ferocity of the combat, but forced himself to step in when Damian not only got the upper hand, but began mercilessly beating the woman and shouting he was going to kill her.

Jai did his best to hold back the enraged teen, but nothing he shouted at his friend seemed to break through his state.

Jai lost his attempt to stop Damian when a kick loosened his grip on Damian, and the older teen lifted and threw Jai across the room like the speedster was a rag doll.

Jai laid, stunned and shaking on the floor, as Damian approached the bleeding, downed woman. Jai’s intervention had given Talia enough time to recover enough strength to draw a knife, which she slashed at Damian’s ankle.

Fortunately, Alfred made a habit of buying durable components for his charge’s uniforms. The slash made full contact with the teen’s ankle, but only managed to scratch the surface of the boot, and break the boot lace.

“Oh, good. There’s still some fight left in you. You’re not done yet, not by a long shot. I’m not satisfied yet,” Damian said as he lifted a booted foot and brought it slamming down on Talia’s wrist, breaking both bones in the woman’s arm.

Talia screamed wordlessly in pain as Damian grabbed the knife and, without looking, threw it into the training room wall, where four of the six inches of the blade sank into the plasterboard.

“That wasn’t very nice of you,” Damian said, punctuating his statement with another kick to Talia’s face. Blood sprayed out of Talia’s mouth at the impact.

Damian savagely kicked Talia in the ribs again, and a soft smile grew on his face as he heard two of the ribs break. Talia’s face was frozen in a rictus of pain, but no sound escaped her mouth. She was having a hard enough time drawing breath, without worrying about trying to make a noise.

Damian stared down at his mother, and wasn’t quite sure if the look on her face was one of fear, pain, disgust, or disguised pride. All Damian knew was that looking at the woman was filling him with hate. With a sneer, Damian kicked the woman, over and over, until she was a battered, bloody husk of what she used to be.

Damian dropped to his knees next to the insensate woman, grabbed the front of her shirt, and dragged her up, close to his face. Talia’s head lolled back in her nearly unconscious state. Damian slapped her, hard, to bring her around.

There was only a slight hint of recognition in her puffy, swollen eyes as Damian said softly, “Now, Mother, you _will_ die.”

Damian sank a fist into the center of Talia’s face as he let go of her shirt. Her nose broke at the impact of the fist, and she collapsed back to the floor.

Talia was unable to move as Damian stood again and lifted a booted foot over Talia’s head. He planned to stomp through her head, as many times as it took for his foot to reach the floor. It didn’t matter if the first stomp killed her, he wouldn’t stop until he was sure she would never bother him again.

With a feral scream, putting voice to a decade and a half of pain, frustration, fear, and resentment, Damian gave the strongest effort he could. If he couldn’t please his mother in life, he would do his all to please her with her death.

His leg straightened out forcefully, but the result wasn’t as he expected. Instead of a satisfyingly sickening crunch and squelch, Damian found himself flying across the training room.

Damian slammed painfully into the wall, his head cracking the plasterboard with the force of contact. The impact cleared some of the blood lust from Damian’s head, but not all of it. He looked down and found himself pinned to the wall. Damian pushed at his ensnarement, but it wouldn’t budge.

The unstoppable force had met its match in the immovable object.

“Jonathan,” Damian snarled, “Let me go, right now.”

“No,” Jon snapped defiantly, “This isn’t you, D.”

“I said, let go of me, Jonathan,” Damian shouted.

“And I said no,” Jon replied, just as forcefully, “I won’t let you kill that woman.”

“That’s not your call to make, Jon,” Damian said, “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Neither do you,” Jon said, “We don’t kill. How many times have you told us that?”

“This is different,” Damian said, his eyes blazing, “She deserves to die!”

Jon glanced up, not taking his shoulder off of Damian’s chest. It was taking most of the super strength Jon could force into his legs to keep Damian from breaking free. “Now I know something’s wrong with you. You said that everyone deserves second chances.”

“Not her,” Damian snarled, spit flying from his mouth, “Not her. She’s had too many chances. You don’t know who she is.”

“It doesn’t matter who she is,” Jon said firmly.

“LET ME GO,” Damian roared.

“Not until you calm down,” Jon said calmly, “Think about this, D.”

“I’ve had a lifetime to think about this,” Damian said, “She’s getting off easy with death.”

“I won’t let you do it, D,” Jon said, “Come back to us. I want my brother back.”

“I will _make_ you let me go,” Damian said coldly.

“I won’t stand by and watch you kill someone,” Jon said.

“You know I have Kryptonite in my belt, Jon,” Damian said, “If you don’t let me go, RIGHT NOW, I _will_ use it.”

Jon sighed, “If that’s what you have to do, D.”

“I don’t want to do this to you, Jon.”

“And I won’t let you break the first commandment of our team, Damian. We don’t kill.”

“You leave me no choice, Jon,” Damian said, reaching for his utility belt.

Before he could reach the belt, both of his arms were grabbed and pinned to the wall.

“What,” Damian asked, looking around. 

He found Garfield pinning his right arm to the wall, while Jai, recovered from his earlier assault, pinned his left arm.

“What the hell is this,” Damian snarled, trying to free his arms from his friends.

“Minimum necessary force,” Garfield said, “You gave us a month’s worth of lessons on it.”

“It’s mutiny, is what this is,” Damian yelled,” Get off me!”

Damian threw his body every which way he could, trying to find a way out of his current predicament. A growling cry of frustration flew out of Damian’s mouth as he found himself stuck.

“Hold tight, guys,” Jon said, “We’re getting Damian back, no matter what.”

“You don’t get it,” Damian screamed, “She has to die! She has to die!”

“No, D,” Garfield said, “No one dies today. You promised the League.”

“You don’t understand,” Damian yelled, “This is all her fault. She caused all of this. We can stop her forever, right now.”

“I am not letting you go until I have my brother back,” Jon said.

“LET ME GO,” Damian screamed, his cry extending into a frustrated, wordless yell.

Drawn by the loud shouting, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash ran into the training room. They were all surprised to find a broken, barely breathing woman on the floor, and three boys desperately trying to hold back a raving Robin.

“Boys, can you hold him,” Batman asked.

Garfield and Jai weren’t so sure, but Jon said seriously, “I won’t let go.”

“Flash,” Batman said, “Go up to the infirmary and get a sedative. Something fast acting.”

“Right,” Flash said, “I’ve never seen him like this before.”

Flash left the room, and Wonder Woman approached Talia. “Great Hera,” the woman gasped, seeing Talia’s condition up close, “What happened here?”

Batman shuddered at the sight, then said softly, so only Wonder Woman and Superman could hear, “My son happened. Damian did this. This is Talia, Damian’s mother. Or, what’s left of her.”

Batman walked past the heap of his one-time lover and walked over to stand directly behind Jon. Batman lifted his eye lenses and grabbed both sides of Damian’s face, to hold it steady.

Staring into his son’s eyes, Batman asked in Bruce’s voice, “Do you know me?”

Damian stared for several long seconds until his eyes widened a bit, “Father.”

“That’s right. Can you calm down on your own?”

Damian tried to look past Batman, and snarled, “Not as long as she’s still breathing.”

“I thought so,” Batman said, releasing Damian’s head.

“Superman,” Damian said breathlessly, “I need Superman.”

Superman started to walk over, but Batman held up a hand, “I won’t let him pull Jon off of you.”

“It’s not that,” Damian said, his agitation starting to rise again.

“I’m not going to kill her for you,” Superman said.

“No, it’s not that,” Damian said, vibrating in frustration, “I need you to go to Alaska.”

Batman shook his head, “I’m not letting you use the excuse that only Robin can calm you down.”

“Let me talk, god damn it,” Damian yelled, “There’s no time to waste. She sent assassins to Alaska, to kill Robin. They’re already there! Only you can get there fast enough to stop them, Superman!”

“Oh, my god,” Superman said, “Can that be true?”

Batman turned to look at Talia, and spoke so only Superman could hear, “If Talia found out about Robin, she would be a target. Damian’s done a lot to try to hide her existence, and their connection.”

“Father, please! Let him go,” Damian pleaded.

Batman glanced back at Damian, then said, “Only a vital, immediate threat to someone Damian loves as much as he loves Robin would bring this side out of him. Superman, go. Fairbanks, Alaska. Eagan Avenue.”

“I’m on my way,” Superman said, “I’ll call in when I know more.”

Superman vanished in the blink of an eye as Flash appeared at Batman’s side. He handed over a needle and said, “Here, Batman. I hope it’s strong enough.”

“It’ll have to be,” Batman said.

“He’s so hopped up on adrenaline, that will probably only bring him down to baseline,” Flash said.

“Better than a murderous rage,” Batman said, walking towards his son.

Damian caught sight of the needle in Batman’s hand, and his eyes widened dramatically. “Father, no! Please, no.”

“It’s just something to take the edge off, son,” Batman said, “I don’t like this anymore than you do.”

Damian started shaking in his friend’s grip, “Please, Father. We talked about this. Please, don’t do this. Don’t do this to me.”

“You already said you can’t calm down on your own,” Batman said, “Don’t fight this. It’ll help.”

“No, Father,” Damian said quietly as a tear slipped from his eye, “Please.”

“Hold him still, boys,” Batman said sadly, “Damian, try to hold still.”

Damian couldn’t hold still. He was shaking in fear as Batman pushed his head to the side and injected the sedative into Damian’s neck. Batman handed the needle back to Flash while keeping eye contact with his son.

After a minute, Damian started to blink slowly as the sedative took effect.

“Listen to me, son,” Batman said, “Wonder Woman and I are going to do what we should have done a year ago. We are going to take her to an off-planet prison. She will never get out. She will never see the planet Earth again. She will never interfere in our lives again. It will be like she never existed. Do you hear me? You will never see her again. You can forget about her completely. She holds no power over you anymore. You can move on. Do you understand? She will never bother us again.”

“Are you sure,” Damian slurred out.

“I promise,” Batman said, before turning to Wonder Woman, “Let’s get her out of here.”

Batman and Wonder Woman picked up the broken form of Talia Al-Ghul and walked towards the training room door, where Batman stopped and turned around.

“Boys, once you hear the elevator doors close, you can let him go.”

Jon, Jai, and Garfield turned to look at Batman, while still holding Damian, and Jai asked, “Are you sure?”

Batman watched as Damian’s head lolled forward as the sedative hit him fully, “I’m sure. Flash, watch over things here.”

“Got it,” Flash said.

Batman and Wonder Woman left, and Flash walked up to Damian. The groggy teen lifted his head and stared at Flash blearily.

“Damian, can you hear me,” Flash asked.

Damian tried to nod, but his head only went forward, not back. “Yeah,” he said.

“I’m not your father, Damian,” Flash said, “So, I won’t feel nearly as bad as he did if we have to give you another shot. Don’t make us have to do that.”

Damian’s eyes widened a bit, “No, I’ll be good, Mr. Flash. I promise.”

Flash smirked at the title and patted Jai on the shoulder, “Okay, boys. You can let him go.”

The fight had gone out of Damian. The boys could feel it, but they also knew how sneaky Damian could be. They didn’t know how strong the sedative Damian had been given was, and didn’t know that they were the only reason Damian was still on his feet. The three boys nodded at each other before taking a step back. Immediately, Damian started falling forward. Thinking he was attacking again, the three boys grabbed Damian again.

“Boys, he’s not fighting,” Flash said, “The sedative worked. Just…don’t drop him.”

“What do we do with him,” Garfield asked.

“Let’s take him to his room, and put him to bed,” Jon said.

“That sounds like a good plan,” Flash said, “Want me to carry him?”

Jai and Gar let go of Damian’s arms, but Jon shook his head, “I’ve got him, Mr. Flash.”

Jon pulled Damian’s right arm over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around Damian’s waist. The Super Youth had no problem carrying Damian’s body weight, but he was feeling the responsibility of carrying his team leader on his shoulders.

Being jostled as they walked out of the training room was enough to rouse Damian from his drugged slumber. “Where are we going,” he asked softly.

“You need to sleep,” Jon said, “We’re taking you to your room.”

“No,” Damian said, ineffectually trying to struggle out of Jon’s grasp, “Take me to the comm room. I need to hear from your Father. I need to be by the comms. I need to wait for Father.”

“You need to rest,” Jon said.

“Take me to the comm room,” Damian said, “I’ll rest there.”

“What do you say, Dad,” Jai asked Flash.

Flash eyed Damian, then nodded, “That’s okay. We can take him there and wait for Superman and Batman.”

The boys settled in the communications room. Not knowing where else to sit, Jon sat them down on the ground in front of the computer. Damian flopped back and hit the back of his head on the edge of the computer console.

Jon cringed a bit as he blushed, “Sorry, D.”

Damian looked around, feeling a bit more awake after striking his head, and asked, “Where are the girls?”

“They’re with Arsenal and Green Arrow,” Flash said, “They should be up here anytime.”

Damian looked up at Flash, “What happened to the guards?”

“They weren’t a problem,” Flash said, “Your team took them down.”

Damian looked at the boys in shock, “How?”

Garfield smiled, “The traps. They worked.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Damian mumbled. _Mother’s personal assassins, stopped by simple traps inspired by a Christmas movie? That shouldn’t be possible._

Damian leaned forward slightly. Jon held up a hand, in case Damian fell forward. “Why didn’t you run,” Damian asked emphatically, “I called Alamo over the radio. You should have run.”

Jai looked confused, “No, you didn’t.”

“Yeah,” Garfield said, “The last thing that came over the radio was the call to change frequencies.”

“A minute after that, I called Alamo,” Damian said, getting agitated, “You should have followed orders.”

“Damian,” Flash said, “They didn’t get the transmission. Don’t get mad at them.”

“How would you know that,” Damian asked.

“We were monitoring the comms,” Flash said, “We got nervous, that you were here so early, so we decided to plan a little more. Red Robin is up on the Watchtower, monitoring the Mountain. He was able to monitor your conversation with…Do they know who that was?”

Damian was very glad that Flash had stopped himself, “No, they don’t. I’ll tell them later.”

Flash nodded, “Well, after your conversation with her, a dampening field went up, cutting off the comms. No one heard your call. They can’t follow an order they never received.”

Damian released a breath as Lian and Irey walked into the comm room. Irey gasped and asked, “What’s wrong with him, Dad?”

“I’ll explain,” Damian said, “Are you two okay?”

“We’re fine,” Lian said as the girls sat down with the group.

“Good,” Damian said, feeling some relief that his team survived the night.

“What’s going on,” Irey asked.

“I was just about to explain,” Damian said as he wavered, close to falling asleep again, “Look, don’t interrupt. Don’t ask questions. Just…let me talk.” Damian took a breath and looked down, “What happened tonight…wasn’t our test. The people we fought weren’t from the Justice League. This was a real invasion.”

The team all gasped in shock at the news, and Jon asked, “Who were they?”

Damian picked his head up, with some difficulty, and said, “There is a group in the world called the League of Assassins. They are the world’s best killers. If you want someone dead, and price is no object, then you contact the League. It was founded a long time ago, by a man named Ra’s Al-Ghul. He is, perhaps, the most dangerous man in the world. The League of Assassins can reach anyone, anywhere, at any time. Ra’s Al-Ghul became so good at what he does, so feared, that he earned the name ‘The Demon’. Now, through unnatural means, Ra’s Al-Ghul has found a way to extend his life. This might sound impossible, but Ra’s Al-Ghul is over one thousand years old. He’s still in good shape, but found that, at his age, he needed help in running the League of Assassins.”

Damian took a breath, then continued talking. His eyes were slipping closed as he spoke. “Ra’s Al-Ghul has a daughter. She isn’t anywhere close to a thousand years old. She was trained personally by Ra’s Al-Ghul, and ended up taking over many of the day to day operations of the League of Assassins. She is just as ruthless as Ra’s Al-Ghul. Her name is Talia Al-Ghul, and she became known as ‘The Demon’s Right Hand’. She has free reign in acting on behalf of the League. Guys, that is who you stopped me from killing tonight. An international terrorist, second in command of the deadliest organization in the world.”

The girls gasped. This was the first they had heard of a near death.

“What does this have to do with us,” Garfield asked, “Why did they invade the Mountain?”

“And how do you know all of this,” Jai asked.

“Didn’t I say don’t ask questions,” Damian said. The room was quiet for a second before Damian continued, “Ra’s Al-Ghul decided he wanted another assistant, someone who could eventually take over the League of Assassins, and lead them into the future, along with Talia Al-Ghul. He wanted someone no one would suspect as a threat, yet who could be the most dangerous, most deadly person in any room. He got what he wanted. This person was trained from birth in how to kill, and how to protect Ra’s Al-Ghul. He was good at killing. He _liked_ killing. It was easy for him. He took pride in his work. Ra’s Al-Ghul named him his honored grandson, and he earned the title of ‘The Demon’s Fist’.”

Damian looked around at his team, forcing himself to meet each of their eyes in turn before saying, “My real name, my birth name, is Damian Al-Ghul, and Ra’s Al-Ghul is my grandfather.”

The team was shocked into silence for several minutes, until Lian asked, “Why do you call yourself Damian Wayne, then?”

“Because that is my name, too. Bruce Wayne is my Father.”

Garfield’s jaw dropped, and some of the green fled from his face as he realized the true impact of what they had just been told. He pointed at Damian and said hesitantly, “Wait. If you are…and they are…That woman. That was this…Talia Al-Ghul? But, if you’re Damian Al-Ghul, then…she’s your mother? You were trying to kill _your_ _own_ _mother_?”

Damian shrugged, trying to ignore the sick looks that crossed his team’s faces, “She would have killed all of us tonight, if given the chance.”

“I’m confused,” Jai said, in a strained voice.

Damian took another breath, “Almost six years ago, the League of Assassins was attacked by their sworn enemy. This attack was different than other, past attacks, though. This time, Ra’s Al-Ghul wasn’t the target. This time, The Demon’s Fist was.”

“You were,” Jon asked in a small voice.

Damian gave a soft nod, “Yes. They almost got me, too. In probably the nicest thing Talia has ever done, and to protect the future of the League, Talia brought me to Gotham City to live with Father, while the League escalated their war against their enemies. She told me that my assignment was to learn how the world works from Father, in order to one day be a better leader of the League of Assassins. Well, I learned more than Mother wanted me to learn. I learned that the League of Assassins is an anachronism, an organization out of time. The world at large forgot about them hundreds of years ago. I learned that everything I’d been taught, my whole life, was evil. I learned that there are better ways than what I was taught by the League. I learned that love, a concept not found in the League, even between a mother and son, can heal even one as brainwashed as me.”

Irey shook her head, looking confused, “That was her over the radio earlier, right? Why did she call you Hafid?”

Damian shook his head, “That was her. Hafid was my code name, when I did missions for the League. She came here tonight, trying to convince me that the last almost six years were a mission, and it was time to come home.”

“And that deserved a death sentence,” Jai asked.

“This isn’t the first time she’s come for me,” Damian said, “When I was eleven, she contacted me and asked if I wanted to come home. I told her I preferred to stay with Father. She called me a disgrace and named me an enemy of the House of Al-Ghul. Tonight, was her fifth attempt to kill me since then. She went too far this time, and got what she deserved.”

“What did she do,” Irey asked.

Damian sniffled, and his voice was a bit weaker when he said, “My girlfriend.”

“Robin,” Jon asked in shock.

Damian nodded, “I knew it was dangerous, having a girlfriend. If Mother ever found out about her, she would try to find a way to use her against me. I worked so hard to keep my relationship a secret. Mother found out I had a girlfriend a couple years ago, but it wasn’t until recently that Mother discovered her identity and location. Mother sent assassins to Alaska, then told me that, if I didn’t return to the League with her, she would call the assassins and order the death of Robin and her family.”

“What happened,” Flash asked, just as riveted to the story as the kids.

Damian rolled his eyes at the man. He had forgotten Flash was in the room. “I snapped. I attacked. I stopped her from making that call, but it wasn’t enough. Now that Mother knows Robin’s identity, as long as Mother was alive, Robin would never be safe. I made my choice. I chose Robin.”

“Wow,” Flash whispered.

Damian looked up, “Are you telling me you would make a different choice, if a known terrorist made the same threat against your family?”

Jai and Irey looked up at their Father, and Flash said, “I hope I never have to make that choice.”

The console beeped behind the team. Damian shot to his feet and turned before he started to sink to the ground again. His legs wouldn’t hold him up in his sedated state. He tried to grab the console, but his arms had just as little strength in them as his legs. Only the fact that Jon caught Damian and held him up kept the older teen from hitting his chin on the console before crumpling to the ground.

Irey had a horrified look on her face as she asked softly, “What’s wrong with him?”

Flash patted her shoulder, “Batman had to give him a sedative to calm him down earlier. Frankly, I’m amazed he’s still awake.”

It took a couple attempts, but Damian hit the right button to answer the comm. “Yes. Go ahead. Talk.”

Red Robin came over the line, “Robin? Batman said he sedated you.”

“He did,” Damian said, “So make this quick.”

“Superman is on the…”

“Patch him through,” Damian interrupted.

Red Robin smiled, “Here he is. Superman, you’re on.”

“Robin,” the Man of Steel said.

“How is she,” Damian asked urgently.

“I made it in time,” Superman said, “Robin and her parents are safe. I got all three assassins.”

Damian collapsed onto Jon in relief. Jon held Damian up easily, and understood when Damian couldn’t move, couldn’t lift his arms to hug his little brother.

“Robin, are you there,” Superman asked at the lack of response.

Flash walked over and checked Damian’s pulse and breathing, then smiled and turned to the communications console, “That’s great news, Superman. Robin will have to call…Robin, tomorrow. He’s out.”

“Did he pass out,” Superman asked.

Flash shook his head, “Batman had to sedate him after you left, to get him to calm down. I think he’s been forcing himself to fight through it until you called. You just took a huge weight off of his shoulders.”

Damian dragged himself back to consciousness with great difficulty and slurred out, “Superman, tell Robin that I’ll call her tomorrow. Tell her why. Tell her…tell her Mother is no longer a threat. Father promised when he took her away.”

“Off planet,” Superman asked.

Damian was fading fast as he said, “Yeah.”

“I’ll tell her,” Superman said.

“Superman,” Damian said in a barely understandable voice, “Thank you for this.”

“You should get some rest,” Superman said as he cut his transmission.

Red Robin spoke through the comm line, “Robin, you still there?”

“Uh-huh,” Damian barely forced out.

“I’m done up here,” Red Robin said, “I’ll come down and take you home.”

“Waiting for Father,” Damian slurred out, asleep again.

“Well, either way, I’m still coming.”

“Thank y…” was all Damian could get out.

Jon smiled as he hit the button to end the call, then gently sat himself and Damian down on the floor again. He kept his arm wrapped tightly around Damian as the Zeta Tube announced Red Robin.

Flash looked at the kids and said, “You guys can head home, if you want. I know this hasn’t been the night you expected.”

Jon directed Damian’s head to fall gently against his shoulder, and said, “No, thanks. I’ll wait for Dad, too.”

“Same here,” the rest of the team said, scooting closer, to surround Jon and Damian.

Flash was confused, and asked, “Why?”

“Because he’d do it for us,” Lian said.

“Because we aren’t a team anymore,” Garfield said.

“We’re a family now,” Jai said, “and we look out for our own.”

Irey nodded, “He’s our brother now. Just as much as he’s yours, Red Robin. He’s our responsibility, just as much as we are his.”

Red Robin smiled and nudged Flash, “I guess tonight was a success, after all.”

_The Next Day…_

Damian sighed and shook his head as his call was sent to voicemail for the third time. He understood why the call wasn’t being answered, but that knowledge wasn’t helping him much right now.

Damian had woken up in his bed, with no clue how he had gotten there. Large chunks of last night were fuzzy for the teen, but he expected that. A quick shower, and several minutes staring at the new bruises on his face, had allowed Damian to begin his day. He still wasn’t aware that the beginning of his day was coming closer to noon than it normally would, even for a Sunday. Damian had one thing on his mind as he left his bedroom, and he went to take care of that first.

Damian pulled his cell phone out of his pocket as he disconnected his latest unanswered call to Robin from the secure phone line in the cave. He sent a quick text message to his girlfriend, reading ‘I know you don’t normally answer calls from unknown numbers, but please answer this one. It’s from me.’ 

As soon as his phone indicated the message had been read, Damian placed his call again. This time, it was answered on the first ring.

“Damian, thank god. I was so scared when Superman said you couldn’t talk because you’d been knocked out.”

Damian laughed, “Is that what he told you?”

“Yeah, why,” Robin asked, “And why are you calling me from an unknown number? Did you get a new phone?”

“No,” Damian said, “I’m calling from one of the secure lines in the cave, so we can really talk about what happened.”

Robin gave a small gasp, “Oh, no. I said Superman over the line, too.”

“That’s okay,” Damian said, “That’s why I’m calling from a secure line.”

“So, how did you get knocked out,” Robin asked, “And, who were those guys? And, why did Superman show up?”

“One at a time, Robin, please,” Damian said, trying to get the girl to slow down, “I just woke up. I’m still a little out of it.”

“Isn’t it, like, noon there?”

Damian shrugged, “I have no idea. Superman told you I was knocked out. What he should have said was I was sedated. Father had to drug me up…to keep me from killing Mother.”

Robin gasped deeply, “Your Mother?”

Damian sighed, “She showed up and destroyed our training last night. We were supposed to have that mock attack by the League. Instead, Mother invaded, and she had a new tactic this time.”

“What was it,” Robin asked.

Damian sniffled, “Robin, she found you. Mother has informants all over the world, and apparently Dr. Ho is one of them.”

“Dr. Ho, as in, the surgeon at the hospital who fixed your burns?”

“The same,” Damian said, “He reported everything that happened with us to Mother, and he gave her the biggest thing she could use against me.”

“What happened with your Mother,” Robin asked.

Damian took a breath, then said, “She tried to confuse me, at first. She said my mission to learn from Father was done, and it was time to return to the League. I, of course, told her no. I told her I’d found things with Father that I couldn’t get with her. That’s when she used you against me.”

“What do you mean,” Robin asked.

“Mother told me that, if I returned with her, you would be brought to me. She also told me that all the laws that say we can’t be married until we’re eighteen don’t exist in the League.”

Robin smiled softly, “You were tempted. I can tell by the tone in your voice.”

Damian nodded, “For three glorious seconds, until I realized what she was actually saying. I’ve worked so hard to keep you from her; to keep you hidden from her. She told me her guards were already at your home, and they could either be escorts, to bring us together, or assassins, to kill you and your parents.”

“What did you do,” Robin asked, in a voice just north of a whisper.

“I…lost it,” Damian said, in a voice that was nearly as quiet as Robin’s, “I wasn’t me anymore. I did things I’m not proud of, and I’m glad you didn’t see it. Mother and I fought, and…she lost, bad. She…she was barely recognizable as human when I was done with her. Except, I wasn’t done with her. I was going to kill her.”

“Your Dad stopped you with the sedative,” Robin asked.

Damian sighed, “No, he didn’t. My team, the boys on my team, stopped me. It took all three of them to do it. They didn’t know they were saving Mother’s life. They only saw me killing someone, and stopped me from going against everything I had taught them. That’s when Father came in and drugged me up. It’s…kinda fuzzy after that, but he told me he was taking Mother somewhere she could never bother us again. He promised me that you’d be safe from her.”

The line fell silent for a minute as the couple listened to each other breathe. Finally, Damian asked, “What happened over there?”

Robin had to take a breath, “Yesterday wasn’t a good day for me. I spent most of it in bed with the oxygen. I was asleep when everything happened. It woke me up, of course, when one of the guys Superman punched landed in my room. Superman told us that you sent him. He tried calling you for us. That’s when he told us that you were knocked out. I don’t think any of us slept last night. Superman took the assassins and left around ten. What did your Dad say?”

Damian shook his head, even though Robin couldn’t see it, “I haven’t talked to him yet. I woke up, took a shower, and came down here to call you. I haven’t seen Father since he took Mother away yesterday.”

“Oh,” Robin said, “Well, Daddy talked to him this morning. He was getting names for security specialists. He said he’s putting in a state of the art system as soon as possible.”

“Good,” Damian said, then sighed, “I’m so glad that you’re okay, Robin, and I’m sorry I brought all of this into your life.”

“I’m glad I’m okay, too,” Robin said, “You have to remember what else you brought into my life, though.”

“What,” Damian asked.

“You,” Robin said. The line was quiet for a second before Robin said, “This was too scary. Um, are you okay? Are you going to be okay?”

Damian released a breath, “I haven’t had time to process anything yet. I think this is going to hit me pretty hard later. Mother is finally gone. It’s a terrible thought, but there is some relief behind it.”

“Where is she,” Robin asked, “Superman said something about prison?”

“I don’t know,” Damian said, “and I don’t want to know. Father promised she could never get to us again. It’s a prison on another planet. I don’t know which one, and Father won’t tell me. I don’t want him to.”

“Well, I want you to do two things,” Robin said.

Damian smiled, “You know I’ll do anything for you.”

“First, I want you to go talk to your Dad. I know you two have a lot to talk about. Second, I want you to talk to Dinah. You’re going to need it, and she can help you.”

Damian thought for a second, “I can do that.”

“And Skype me tonight,” Robin said, “I guess there are three things I want you to do.”

Damian looked down, “Just to let you know, I have some bruises on my face. They don’t hurt, and they’ll go away soon.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Robin said, “Go, talk to your Dad. Tell him I said to give you a hug, since I still can’t reach you from Alaska.”

Damian released a breath and could feel himself relaxing, “Your wish is my command.”

“I love you, Lover.”

“I love you too, Beautiful.”

Damian ended the call and leaned back in his chair, relieved that Robin was okay. Damian got up and turned to leave the cave when the Zeta Tube powered up and deposited Jon in the cave. Damian stopped at the base of the stairs and watched as the smiling boy walked over.

“Hey, D,” Jon said, “How are you doing today?”

Damian was confused by the boy’s presence, and guilt flooded the teen as bits of the previous night stood out in his mind. “I’m…not really sure. I’ve only been awake for a half hour or so.”

“Some night, last night,” Jon said.

Damian gave a short nod, “A lot of it is pretty fuzzy to me, but there is one thing I remember clearly. I’m sorry, Jonathan. I shouldn’t…”

Jon shook his head, “You don’t have to apologize to me, D. All you did was yell a little. There’s a lot you could have done, but you didn’t.”

“I do have to apologize to you,” Damian said, “You are obviously a better brother than I am.”

Jon looked down, “No one could have guessed that last night would happen.”

“It’s not an excuse to treat you the way I did,” Damian said.

“No one blames you, D,” Jon started before Damian interrupted.

“They should. I chose to do what I did last night.”

Jon shook his head, “You were forced to make that choice. You chose to protect people close to you.” Jon took a step closer and hugged Damian tightly, “I got my brother back. That’s all that matters.”

Jon stepped back, and Damian said, “You seem pretty well informed about what happened last night. My memory is pretty fuzzy after Father sedated me. What happened? How do you know all of this?”

Jon smiled, “You told us.”

Damian shook his head, “Let’s start smaller. I woke up in my bed. How did I get there?”

“Your Dad took you home, once everything was done.”

“Okay,” Damian said, “I woke up and knew Robin was safe, but I don’t remember talking to her, or your Father. How did I know that?”

“That must be the sedative,” Jon said, “You talked to Dad. You collapsed during that talk. I think you stopped fighting the drugs.”

Damian looked confused, “How long was I awake after Father sedated me?”

“What do you remember,” Jon asked.

Damian thought for a second, “Well, Father drugged me, then told me he was taking Mother away. I closed my eyes, then opened them when we were walking out of the training room. Father was gone, and you said you were taking me to my quarters. I told you to take me to the command room. We got in the elevator…I don’t remember anything after the doors closed.”

Jon’s eyes widened, “Really? You were awake, or at least in and out, for another half hour or so. We went up to the command room. While we were waiting for Dad to call, you told us about your history with the League of Assassins, and that it was your Mother there last night. Then, Dad called and told you that Robin was okay. You pretty much passed out after that. We waited for my Dad and your Dad to get back, then went home.”

“You and I waited,” Damian asked.

Jon shook his head, “The whole team waited. We all decided something last night. You now have two sisters, and two new brothers.”

“Only two,” Damian asked.

Jon smirked, “Yeah. You and I are already brothers. Jai and Gar are the new ones.”

Damian stepped forward and hugged Jon, “Thank you for everything you did. You’re going to make a great leader for this team.”

“Wait, what? What do you mean, a leader?”

Damian sighed, “There’s very little I can teach you anymore. You’ll be great.”

Jon took a step back, with concern shining through his face, “What do you mean, I’ll be a good leader? You’re the leader of this team. Are you quitting on us?”

Damian took a breath, “We’ll see what the League wants. I haven’t talked to Father yet. If they want me out, I’m recommending you as the next leader. You’re very impressive, Jon.”

“But I’m not a leader,” Jon said, “I’m too young.”

“You stepped up last night, and enforced the team’s code,” Damian said, “You were scared, but you put that aside to do what was right. You stood up to me. You stopped me from doing something horrible. If that isn’t a leader, I don’t know what is.”

“I’m not ready to be a leader,” Jon said, “I need to see how it’s done. You need to teach me, and the rest of the team. You said you would stay with us.”

“That was before my personal issues nearly got all of us killed,” Damian said, “We were preparing for a friendly exercise, and we got trained killers. Trained killers who wouldn’t have been there if I wasn’t there. I told the League that, if I can’t keep all of you safe, then I need to be replaced with someone who can.”

Jon’s eyes narrowed, “You want me to lead? Fine, I will. You promised the team twice that you would stick with us. People on my team keep their promises. My first, and last, act as leader of our team is to remind you that you aren’t going anywhere. This team was designed around Robin. Without Robin, we aren’t a team. So…pull your weight. Something bad happened. Now, we get to learn how to bounce back from a serious situation. You get to teach us how to recover and move forward, and if you need help, you ask your team, your brothers and sisters. You don’t run away from us. We won’t let you.”

Damian gave Jon a soft smile and said, “Spoken like a true leader. Okay, we’ll see what the Justice League has to say before we make any decisions, but…I’ll keep my promise.”

“You better,” Jon said, then smiled, “We’ve already proven that I’m stronger than you. Don’t make me have to drag you to meetings.”

Damian finally laughed, “Okay, Jon. Hey, what are you doing here, anyway?”

The boys walked upstairs, and Jon asked, “Didn’t your Dad tell you?”

Damian shook his head, “I haven’t seen Father today.”

“Oh,” Jon said, “Well, we’re debriefing here later today. Your Dad called my Dad and said I should come over early.”

“Why,” Damian asked.

Jon smiled and held up a small bag, “We’re going swimming.”

Damian and Jon entered the Manor, and were met by Bruce. Bruce stopped short and said, “There you are. I’ve been looking for you, Kiddo. Hello, Jon. You’re a little earlier than I thought you’d be. The rest of your team won’t be here for another hour.”

Jon looked up at Bruce, “Dad said that you said to come over early.”

Bruce nodded, “I did say that. I guess we got our signals crossed. Jon, I’d like a few minutes with my son. Alfred can make you a snack, if you want.”

“If I eat, then I can’t go swimming for a while,” Jon said.

Bruce smiled, “Tim’s watching TV in the den. You can join him.”

“That works for me,” Jon said as he walked away. Jon stopped at the end of the hall and said, “You could have just told me to go away, Mr. Wayne. Damian already told me that you two haven’t talked since everything happened.”

Jon left, and Damian looked up with a hint of a flush in his cheeks, “H-hi, Father.”

“Good morning, Kiddo,” Bruce said, “How are you feeling?”

Damian sighed, “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. A lot happened in the last day.”

Bruce nodded, “Yes, it has. I thought we’d have more time to talk, but since your friend is already here, we should just…”

“Why did you drug me,” Damian interrupted, “We talked about that a couple days ago. Mother used to do that to me all the time. I don’t like that.”

Bruce sighed, “I know, son, and I’m sorry. You said yourself that you couldn’t calm down, and your friends couldn’t hold you all night. What other option did I have?”

“None, I guess,” Damian grumbled.

“That’s why you’ve been working on self-control with Dinah for a couple years, so I wouldn’t have to resort to drugging you to calm you down,” Bruce said.

“I guess I still need more work,” Damian said dejectedly.

“I’ll call Dinah to come over later,” Bruce said, “I’m assuming there’s a lot you two need to discuss.”

“There’s a lot _we_ need to discuss, too, Father.”

“Where do you want to start,” Bruce asked.

Damian nodded down the hall, and the pair walked to the front sitting room. Father and son sat on the couch. Damian slid over and leaned against Bruce’s side. Bruce pulled his son in tight with an arm around Damian’s shoulder.

“Why did this have to happen? How did Mother know where the Mountain is, and how to get in?”

“Your mother is very resourceful,” Bruce said, “You must have inherited some of that from her.”

“I don’t want anything from her,” Damian grumbled.

“We don’t have surveillance video of anything that happened, and she jammed the comms.”

Damian sighed, “That’s my fault.”

Bruce cocked his head, “How so?”

“I changed the computer passwords,” Damian said, “I used passwords that I used when I was with the League, specifically to lock you out. I never considered I would be giving Mother complete control over Mount Justice.”

“There was no reason to suspect she would show up last night,” Bruce said.

“We should have,” Damian said, “She is still alive. We should always be ready for her to pop up.”

Bruce took a breath, “Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. It is physically impossible for her to get back to Earth now. She will be in prison for the rest of her life on that alien world.”

“Good,” Damian said, “I shouldn’t be happy for that, but…good.”

“How did it all happen,” Bruce asked, “Like I said, video surveillance was out. I can’t see you two just seeing each other and fighting.”

“Mother tried to get me to go with her,” Damian said, “She said that my mission to learn from you was complete, and it was time to go home. I told her no, of course. That’s when she tried to bribe me. Go back with her, and I would be welcomed by Grandfather and made his right hand, essentially taking Mother’s place. I wouldn’t be just a secret guard anymore. I would be next in line to rule the world. Prince of the League of Assassins. It didn’t interest me. Well, not enough to actually go with her.”

Bruce smiled, “What was her next tactic? Talia never would have jumped in with just one plan, especially one you’ve refused before.”

“She appealed to my baser natures,” Damian said, “Return to the League and Robin would be brought to me, to live in a place where none of the current restrictions on our relationship exist.”

Bruce’s eyes widened at the offer, “How did I not lose my son last night?”

“You almost did,” Damian said, “Until I realized what her offer meant.”

“What did it mean,” Bruce asked. Bruce knew what it meant, but he also knew that Damian had to talk it out in order to process his feelings.

“It meant Mother had found Robin,” Damian said, “It meant everything I’ve done to hide Robin and our relationship has been for nothing. Mother knew her full name, her birthday, her home address, her parent’s names, and which bedroom was hers.”

Bruce’s jaw dropped, “How did she know all of that? Did she say?”

“The same way she knew all about my burns,” Damian growled, “Dr. Ho is an informant for the League.”

“Oh my god,” Bruce breathed.

“Mother’s assassins were _inside_ Robin’s home,” Damian said desperately, “They were waiting for Mother to give the order to kill them.”

“And that’s why you attacked,” Bruce said, nodding.

“That’s why I was going to kill her,” Damian snarled, “I…I wasn’t me anymore. I was…the old me. Mother was going to die, consequences be damned.”

Bruce pulled Damian into his lap and hugged him tightly, “It’s okay, Kiddo. It’s over now. Breathe. Relax for me. Please, Kiddo.”

Damian took a deep breath, and Bruce felt some of the tension drain from his son. 

“I’m okay, Father,” Damian said softly, “Not looking forward to my nightmares tonight, though.”

Bruce cringed, “Were they bad last night?”

Damian shook his head, “I didn’t have any. I don’t usually dream when I’m sedated.”

Bruce kissed the side of Damian’s head, “I already said I’m sorry for that.”

The pair sat quietly for a second before Damian asked, “Jon said we’re debriefing here?”

Bruce gave a small smile, “It’s not really a debrief. Your team needs some time to decompress. I thought swimming and a barbeque would be better for you guys than a full League meeting.”

Damian released a breath, “They impressed me last night. They stood up to me, and stopped me from killing Mother. I’m very proud of them.”

“Are you going to stay with the team,” Bruce asked, “It really is up to you.”

Damian smiled, “Jon will make a good leader, but he isn’t ready for that yet. He and I talked about that when he got here. I’ve been told, in no uncertain terms, that if I try to quit, he will drag me to meetings until I continue to go on my own.”

“How do you feel about that,” Bruce asked.

“I need this team,” Damian said, “We can do great things together. I just needed to be slammed through a wall to realize that.”

The front door opened, startling the men in the sitting room, and a voice asked, “Hey, is anybody home?”

Bruce’s eyes widened, “Oh, no. I’m so sorry, son. I forgot that I invited Selina over. I invited her a couple days ago, before everything happened last night. I’ll…I’ll just tell her to go.”

Bruce started to get up, but Damian shook his head, “No, wait. I promised to try.”

Bruce looked at his son, “Damian, if this is going to be too much for you to take right now, just tell me now. You don’t have to do this.”

Damian looked down, “I don’t know. If it does get to be too much, I’ll let you know. Maybe, with my friends here, it will help.”

Selina stepped around the corner and smiled as she saw Bruce and Damian sitting on the couch. “Oh, good. I’m not the only one here. I know I’m a little early, but I didn’t think you’d mind. Hello, Damian.”

“Hello, Miss Kyle,” Damian said softly.

Bruce walked around the couch and hugged Selina, “Hey, Sel. Look, plans are up in the air right now. Things might be changing. We’re, kind of, taking things slow today.”

Selina looked over at Damian, who was still sitting on the couch and staring at his lap, “Did last night’s training not go to plan?”

Damian flinched lightly, but remained quiet. Bruce answered the question softly, “No. Nothing went to plan last night. Look, it’s a very long story; one I’ll tell you later. Um, I actually forgot that I invited you over today. We have some other plans, starting in about an hour. The kids are coming over to go swimming, and we will debrief what happened last night over a barbeque.”

“A Justice League barbeque,” Selina asked with a smile, “Do you want me to leave?”

Bruce glanced over at Damian, then said, “No. You can stay, if you want.”

Damian got up off of the couch and headed for the door. Selina couldn’t understand the sad look on Damian’s face as the teen approached.

“Damian, are you alright,” Selina asked.

Damian stopped and stared at the floor, and spoke softly, “No.”

“If you want me to leave, I’ll go,” Selina said. “Bruce told me about, well, what being around me does to you. I wish we’d known sooner.”

“You’re already here,” Damian mumbled, “You can stay.”

Selina looked up at Bruce, who shrugged and said, “He said he’d try.”

Selina looked back at Damian, “Well, don’t push yourself, Damian.”

Damian nodded, still not looking up at the woman.

Selina eyed the teen and asked, “If I were to do something right now, would I walk away alive?”

“What do you mean,” Bruce asked.

Selina continued watching Damian critically, “Damian, you look like you need something, but I don’t think you know how to ask for it. If I were to offer it, would you accept it as a gesture, and not an attack?”

Damian finally looked up curiously, “What are you thinking?”

Selina took a couple steps closer to the teen, “That I should probably have my head examined.”

Selina closed the last step between them and pulled Damian into a gentle hug. Damian immediately tensed in the embrace, tightening every muscle in his body in preparation for what might come next.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Selina whispered in Damian’s ear, “Whatever’s going on will be okay. I know you don’t like me, but if you want to talk to someone outside of whatever is going on, I’ll listen.”

Bruce was very surprised when Damian started to relax in Selina’s grasp. When Selina stepped back from Damian without a knife handle sticking out of her back, Bruce was very impressed.

“I meant that, Damian,” Selina said.

Damian couldn’t lift his head. He stared at the floor before giving a sniffle and a quiet, “Damn.”

“Damian,” Bruce asked.

Damian wiped at his nose and uttered wetly, “Damn it.”

Selina’s eyes widened as she saw a tear drip from Damian’s lowered face, and the teen started shaking as the unexpected show of support pushed his emotions over the edge.

Instinct took over, and Selina gathered Damian up in her arms again. Damian cried silently, not understanding why this was happening.

He didn’t like Selina.

He didn’t trust Selina.

But, right now, he wouldn’t leave this embrace for anything. It felt right. And, Selina was right.

He needed this.

After a minute, Damian stepped back and gave a mighty sniff. He still couldn’t meet Selina’s face as he said softly, “Thank you. I, um…Thank you.”

Damian walked out of the sitting room, and Selina turned a shocked gaze to Bruce. “What just happened?”

Bruce gave a warm smile, “You just bonded with my son. I think he’ll remember that the next time he tries to push you away.”

“Why did he cry like that,” Selina asked.

Bruce looked at the door. Even though he had heard Damian walk upstairs, it was just habit to try not to talk about his son behind his back. “Without getting into too deep of an explanation, last night turned very personal for Damian.”

“How personal do you get during League trainings,” Selina asked.

Bruce sighed, “Very personal, when his Mother shows up and tries to kill him. As to why he was crying, I believe he was thinking about why you, basically a complete stranger, seem to care more for him than his own mother. I think he’s very confused right now. He needs some time, but…maybe you just helped him more than I could.”

Several minutes later, Jon heard footsteps approaching the den. He turned to look at the entryway as Damian stepped into view. Damian had changed his clothes, and Jon could tell that Damian had been crying.

Instead of the boisterous greeting he had originally planned, Jon released a breath and said softly, “Hey, D.”

Jon could tell that Damian appreciated the subdued greeting. “Ready, Jon?”

Jon stood, with Tim watching the boys intently, “I’m ready.”

Damian looked the youth up and down, “You’re going to go swimming in that?”

Jon looked down at his t-shirt and jean shorts and said, “It takes me two seconds to change. How long will it take you?”

Damian looked down at his tight, sleeveless, black Under Armor shirt and his black and green swim trunks. “I’m already changed.”

“You’re going to wear that,” Jon asked as they walked out of the den.

“Dr. Thompkins said I should keep my grafts out of direct sunlight for the next year or so,” Damian said.

Jon was in and out of the downstairs restroom in ten seconds, and Damian smirked, “That was longer than two seconds.”

Jon rolled his eyes, “I had to put my clothes and shoes back in my bag. You still don’t want to show anyone your back? Not even your brother?”

Tim walked out of the den as the younger boys passed by, “Just let it be, Jon. I live across the hall from him, and I still haven’t seen his back.”

Damian looked down with a blush, “I…I know what my back used to look like, before the fire. It’s worse now. You don’t need that image in your head.”

“It’s okay to be self-conscious, Damian,” Tim said.

Damian glanced up at his older brother, “Dr. Thompkins really did say to stay away from direct sunlight.”

“I believe you,” Tim said, ruffling Damian’s hair, “I’m just glad you didn’t take that as an excuse to lock yourself in your room.”

“Freeze, gentlemen.”

Tim, Damian, and Jon stopped just feet away from the back door as Alfred appeared out of the kitchen.

“Master Timothy?”

Tim held up his hands, “I’m not swimming. I’m just going to find a nice spot in the shade and watch.”

“Very well,” Alfred said, turning to look at Damian, “Are you wearing that in the pool, Master Damian?”

“Yes, Alfred,” Damian said.

“Hands, please.”

Damian held out his hands, and Alfred squirted a generous dollop of sunscreen into the outstretched palms. “Arms, face, neck, ears, if you don’t mind.”

Alfred turned to the smiling youngest boy, “Turn around, Master Jonathan.”

Jon turned after Alfred gave Jon’s hands the same squirt that Damian got. “If you do your front while I take care of your back, this will go much quicker.”

“Okay, Mr. Alfred,” Jon said, rubbing sunscreen into his stomach.

Jon froze as he felt a hand on his back, a hand on his arm, and a hand on his ear. “Um, do you have three hands, Mr. Alfred?”

Tim snorted a laugh as Damian stepped into Jon’s line of sight. “I had extra,” Damian said, rubbing a hand across Jon’s forehead.

Jon smiled, “Oh, good. Thanks, D.”

Jon closed his eyes and stood still, surprising Damian by allowing the older boy to rub sunscreen on his face.

“I believe you are all ready,” Alfred said, “Enjoy yourselves, boys.”

Twenty minutes later, the rest of the team came boiling out of the back door of Wayne Manor. They had all received the same sunscreen treatment from Alfred. Garfield, who was still new to the Manor, was ready to think that this behavior was strange, but when the rest of the team lined up and waited patiently for the butler’s ministration, Garfield let it go.

“Wow, you really _are_ green all over,” Jon called from the pool as Garfield took a flying leap into the water.

Garfield came up spouting water from his mouth, then said, “This place is so cool, D. Thanks for setting this up for us.”

“Wasn’t me,” Damian said, “You should thank Father.”

“I will,” Garfield said as Lian and Irey jumped into the pool.

Damian watched Jai walk over to a lounge chair next to Tim and sit down. Damian pulled himself out of the pool and took a chair next to Jai.

The boys sat quietly for a minute before Damian said, “I understand that I owe you an apology, Jai. I wasn’t myself last night, but that is no excuse for what I did to you. Are…are you alright?”

Jai eyed the teen, “You threw me across the room like I didn’t weigh anything. It was like you didn’t even see me.”

Damian sighed, “I didn’t see you. I didn’t even know you were in the room until you helped pin me to the wall.”

“It’s like you weren’t even you,” Jai said, “You…you scared me, Damian.”

“Unfortunately, I _was_ me,” Damian said, “At least, that was the old me. That’s who I was raised to be. The me I’ve tried to bury ever since I started living with Father. I’m very sorry you got caught in the middle of that.”

Jai looked down, “Well, I put myself in the middle of that.” Jai looked hesitant before he asked, “Was she really your Mother?”

Damian nodded sadly, “Yes, she is. I still think she deserves to die for everything she’s done, but thank you for caring enough about me to do what’s right. You cared more for me last night than I did.”

They fell silent again before Jai asked, “Are you better now?”

Damian released a breath, “I’m working on it. I’m going to need a lot of help from my friends, though. Will you help me with that?”

Jai turned his head to stare at the pool, and spoke softly, “No, I can’t do that.”

Tim stared at the boys with his jaw hanging. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the rest of the team inching closer to the conversation, while staying in the pool and trying to stay unnoticed.

Damian looked down at his lap, “Oh. I…I understand. I’m sorry, Jai.”

Jai looked back at Damian, “No, you _don’t_ understand. I can’t help you as a friend because we aren’t friends. After last night, we’re brothers, and I won’t help you as anything less than that.”

Damian slowly turned his head to stare at Jai. The rest of the team had gathered as close to Damian and Jai as possible to listen to the conversation. They were just as shocked as Damian was.

“We aren’t a team anymore, D,” Jai said, looking at the rest of the kids, “We’re a family, and family is always there for each other. So, if you want our help, you’ll get it as our big brother, because anything less than that just won’t cut it anymore.”

Damian looked at the young faces staring at him from the pool. Every head was nodding in agreement with Jai’s statement.

“Are you sure you really want this? Tim can tell you what it’s really like to be my brother.”

Tim smiled at Damian, “It’s not nearly as bad as you make it out to be, Damian. Take family where you can get it, D. Everyone who lives under our roof know just how easy it is to become alone in an instant. Follow in Bruce’s footsteps, and make your own family.”

Damian slowly nodded, “Very well. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The kids cheered as they went back to swimming and playing in the water.

Damian grabbed Jai’s shoulder and asked, “Aren’t you going to swim, too?”

Jai blushed slightly, “You know I don’t really know how to swim. I tend to, you know, drown.”

Damian gave a small smile, “What kind of big brother would I be if I didn’t help you with that?”

“You’d be Jason,” Tim said, “He’d throw you in and laugh as you started to drown, before he pulled you out.”

Damian stood up and held out a hand to Jai, “Come on. You’ll be fourteen next month; it’s about time you learned how to swim. I’ll teach you.”

Jai took Damian’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “No drowning?”

“Not on my watch,” Damian said.

Bruce, Clark, and Selina stood leaning against the back wall of Wayne Manor, near the back door, watching as Damian pushed Jai into the shallow end before jumping in after him.

Selina nudged Bruce and said, “I guess he’s recovered from earlier.”

“Having friends has worked wonders for Damian,” Bruce said, “He makes a good big brother.”

Selina glanced up, “Is that an observation, or a hint?”

“However you want to take it, Sel,” Bruce said, kissing her cheek.

Clark smiled at the interaction, then said, “Well, at least the barbeque should be peaceful tonight.”

“They’re going to start expecting things like this after all their missions,” Bruce said, “First, Damian treats them to an Alfred Special Breakfast after their planning night. Now, this after their first supposed mission.”

“Oh, let them have fun,” Selina said, “They’re kids, and from what you told me, they had a tough night last night.”

Bruce watched the kids playing for another minute. _She’s right. Damian needs normal, child-like interactions. This is probably healthier for him than an hour of therapy would be. If he can wear himself out enough, maybe he can hold off the nightmares for another night._

“Like I was saying,” Clark said, “The barbeque will be peaceful. It seems like they took care of their debriefing on their own.”

Bruce nodded, smiling as Damian tried to convince Jai to trust him enough to help him float on his back. It wasn’t that the speedster didn’t trust Damian, he didn’t trust that he could relax on the top of the water without sinking to the bottom of the pool.

“We can wait until next weekend to get statements from them. Selina’s right, they need this. They need to be kids for a while.” _For as long as we can keep them young at heart._

Alfred spoke up from behind the adults. They didn’t know he was standing there. “Then, may I suggest you go be proud parents for a while, and sit down to enjoy watching your children at play?”

Bruce smiled, “Best idea I’ve heard all day, Alfred.”

**A/N: I’m finding these stories fairly difficult to write, because I’m writing them out of order. I’m trying to get them out, so I write whichever one speaks to me at any time. That usually means spending a day or two working on one story, until I get an idea to work into a different story, and working on that one for a day or two at a time. Keeping continuity is harder than it seems when you’re trying to make things up as you go, while remembering what you’ve written before, that happens to come after this in the timeline.**

**I’m also finding these stories difficult to write because most of these ideas and outlines are at least a year or two old. It has taken me far longer to get around to writing these recent stories than I thought it would. They’ll all get out eventually, before I put some big changes into my timeline. I’m working on something big for my stories that hasn’t made it to the timeline yet, and won’t until my current roster of stories is completed. I’ve already started writing that, and I like where it’s going.**

**I hope everyone is enjoying what I’m putting out. I’d love to hear what you think.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


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